Jaded Angels and Silken Blossoms
by Ugly Kitten
Summary: Harry PotterCardcaptor Sakura (manga) fic. 1st person POV. Angel is chosen to be an American exchange student to Hogwarts. Who is the mysterious new teacher and what does he have to do with the Clow Cards? Find out! Finished!
1. Dreams and Dragons

Well, Angel has done it and done it, but she just can't seem to find a place to settle down. Hi, everyone. ****ducks from flying bananas**** You're prolly all mad at me, aren't you? I start a fan fiction and don't finish it. Well, not this time! I will prevail! I should have done this with the other stories…I am over halfway finished with this one, so I'll be able to make updates on it. Hopefully. Geez, is it really 60 pages already?

Anyways, sorry for the absence of updates. Our computer went nutso and basically I had no access to the Internet for a while. When we finally got the computer working again, it had NO RUDDY WORD PROCESSOR! So frustrating.

So, I'm back again from outer space with a brand new story just for you! It's a Harry Potter/Cardcaptor Sakura story with a little twist. Hope ya'll have fun!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter (belongs to JK Rowling) and I do not own Cardcaptor Sakura (belongs to CLAMP). I most certainly own myself and my brother and any original ideas seen here. If you recognize it, I don't own it. 'Kay?

So, take a chair and a lemonade and feast your eyes on this! New from Angel Sari Neko Jeminie Indigo Productions is…!

Jaded Angels and Silken Blossoms 

Chapter 1: _Dreams and Dragons_

***

"RUN!" 

"IT'S COMING!"

Screams, shouts, and sobs filled the thick, heated air of the main street of Tomoeda. Of course, I've still no idea what they were all screaming about, or running from. I just ran with the crowd, hoping to hear what was going on.

It probably sounds stupid that I don't know what's going on. I don't even know how I knew this was Tomoeda; I don't even know what country it's in. I've never been here before. All I know is one second, I was on my broom, the next, and I'm running for my life.

In all the commotion, I did happen to notice one thing. I'm not overweight anymore. In fact, I'm skinny and pretty strong to boot. All of the sudden, everyone fell down and fell asleep.

That's when I saw it. 

It was a tiger.

What the heck is going on?

"Sakura!"  
"AIEEEEEEEEE!!!"

A little girl! No more than ten years old, she was falling. A man caught her. A teenager, it looked like, but way too cute. He looked like an angel, with long silver hair and feathery wings.

There was no one else around. It was night, but it was a night I'd never seen before. Like the sun and moon had been totally eclipsed at once. But that was impossible, right?

Since they appeared to be the only ones around, I headed for where I'd seen the tiger, the teenager, and the girl. I wish I were still in school. At least then I wouldn't be trying to act like a Muggle in the middle of the street wearing my robes.

The moment I arrived on the scene, I saw several things. The first was the tower, and the ten-year-old boy who stood upon it. I knew without asking that this was no ordinary boy, though. Then I saw a black tiger and a teenage girl, both with the strangest butterfly wings I'd ever seen.

Then I saw that other tiger again, and the teenage boy. They both had those beautiful feathery wings. The little girl was standing alone in the center of a strange circle, an eastern magic circle. A boy was standing behind her, looking very much like he was going to faint. In her hands was the strangest staff I've ever seen. It was more like an extremely tall staff, with a star at the end. The teenager and the tiger disappeared into the staff even as I watched, and the staff changed. 

The little girl held two cards up in her hands. I had learned about them in my studies. A small gasp escaped my lips, but no one paid any attention to me. They were the Clow Cards! The nineteen special cards crafted by the magician Clow Reed, who had passed away hundreds of years ago. But the cards...everyone thought they had long ago disappeared!

But the little girl was...changing the cards. Somehow, they were different. The magic circle below her was not the circle Clow had crafted. I was sure of it!

I looked around the area again, and saw another little girl and another teenage boy, both of which were quite normal looking. Both were fast asleep, like so many others around them. They looked helpless. Seeing that there was nothing I could do for the little girl, who was having trouble changing the cards in all the wind, I went to help the two sleeping ones. It was the least I could do until I could ask questions of the ones who were so busy.

I sat the two up against a nearby tree, just as the entire sky was alit in blazing light. I had no idea how the Clow cards worked, or what was the history behind them. Nor did I know what was going on now. Even as the young boy descended from the top of the tower to the ground, as gracefully as if he were descending a staircase, I did not ask questions. 

"As happy as I am that you have at last changed the Light Card, Sakura," said the boy. "The real sun isn't up yet. It would be confusing to people if they woke up."

Sakura nodded, a little confused. She changed the sky back to night and the sun began to rise.

"You...did it?" said the boy in her arms. He seemed so weak.

"Yeah," said the girl.

"I imagine that you all have questions for me," said the standing boy. "You most of all, I think, Sakura."

"I would like to know," said Sakura. "Eriol...Clow Reed..."  
_Clow Reed?!_

Clow Reed?

Clow Reed...

Clow...Reed...

...Clow...

"Angel, wake up! Wake up! A letter came for you, it looks important!" The ground shook beneath me in a trembling earthquake. Sakura and Eriol and the tigers and teenagers and the other little girl and little boy swam together in a finger-painting of colors before fading to black.

"Wake up! Wake up!" 

Stinging pain stung my face again and again, and suddenly the ground started to roll, like waves beneath a boat. The black became white before instantly becoming a watercolor world.

"Finally, I thought you'd never wake up!" My little brother David rolled his eyes as he came into a clearer focus than ever before. At least, I think ever before. "There's a letter for ya. Here ya go. Come on, let's play Final Fantasy!!" He threw a thick envelope over my head and under my bed.

"Nooooo..." I moaned. "Lemme wake up firs', kid."

"M'kay!" he jumped off my bed and turned around, his fists planted firmly on his waist. "You gots five minutes!"

I moaned again in protest, but he was already gone. Even now, I can't believe that was all just a dream. The little girl, Sakura, the boy, Eriol...no, Clow Reed was his name. What was this significance to me? Nothing. Nada. I have no idea who Clow Reed is, or who any of those other people were. 

I'm back in my chubby little body again. Thick wrists, plump tummy, and those cheeks that your grandma just loves to pinch, yeah, that's me. Lucky for me, I don't get to see my grandparents very often. They go and see my cousin Whittney more often than not.

And what the heck was I thinking? I distinctly remember remembering myself on a broom, high above the ground. Then there were the clothes I was wearing; I'd called them "robes". And I remembered a school, a castle that got me thinking about the Celts of ancient England. Above all, what the heck's a Muggle?

I shrugged it off and got up. It was summer time and the sun was already high in the sky, telling me it was way past my normal rising hour of six o'clock sharp. That dream must've kept me asleep. 

"Angel, hurry up! You're late!" David said from the other side of the door. He knew better by now to never come barging into my bedroom.

"Lemme get dressed and read my letter, Dee, I just woke up!" I said. He did not answer, but I heard his feet pounding the ground. He was retreating. 

Every summer morning happens exactly like this. I wake up and David begs me to play some miscellaneous game. This year, it's actually three games, Final Fantasy VII, VIII, and IX.

Anyways, I climbed out of my bed, which is actually very firm and uncomfortable (I'd rather sleep on the floor). The numerous mirrors around me all reflected a different angle of myself, but the all portrayed about the same thing. Me.

The brown hair's cool, neither curly nor straight, but very thin. I tied it up in a ponytail, but left it in a sort of held loop bun. Most people would wonder why I'd ever wear it in a ponytail in the first place, with my pudgy face and wide shoulders. It's just me.

Pulling on a pair of old, worn out jeans while stepping into a pair of flip-flops and pulling on a T-shirt may sound hard to you, especially if you had my bulk. Actually, I'm so used to getting dressed quickly that I don't even notice.

I finished getting dressed and reached behind my bed to retrieve the heavy envelope that David had thrown. The envelope was brown, like some kind of really cool parchment. After studying it a moment, I realized that it _was_ a piece of parchment. The envelope was sealed with an important-looking crest and a bit of red wax. It must be a donation calling for an ancient Celt project or something. Who would go to so much trouble?

On the front, printed carefully in green ink, was the to address. It stated my name, my address, you know the gig. But peculiar as it may seem, it stated one extra piece of information. _The Mirrored Bedroom_. How weird. The return address was from some weird name I didn't want to try to pronounce.

Only someone who was used to it could seal an envelope like this, though. My eyes rolled again and I fell back on my bed, staring into one of the mirrors. The mirrors reflected back my chubby face, with my strangely colored eyes staring right straight back at me. The one on my right was blue, while the one on my left was green. Strange, huh?

Finally, I just carefully opened the envelope. I really didn't want to rip that seal, it was kind of cool. Especially the lion. It was so cool! The snake was cool, too, but its eyes were creeping me out. Weird, isn't it? I get little feelings like that. The badger seemed to smile at me, while the bird, I think it was a raven of some kind, just stared back at me, like it was studying me.

But that snake. The snake looked like it just wanted to kill me right now. Like something sinister was watching me, ready to strike, like that one kind of snake in Australia, the Death Adder.

But that's silly! Isn't it?

"Angel, get a grip," I said to myself, pulling out two more sheets. 

                        _Dear Ms. Indigo, _

_                  We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. As you are to be our first foreign exchange student, we wish to welcome you especially into our country. Your parents have been contacted previously with more information._

_                  Due to the distance, you will be given a wizard host family for your seven-year stay here in England. Your parents have all other information pertaining to your host family._

_                  All first years are required to have the supplies listed on the paper accompanying this letter. We await your owl no later than July 25. _

_Yours Sincerely,_

_Minerva McGonagall_

_Deputy Headmistress_

What in the world does that mess mean? What's a "Hogwarts"? And what did the mean by "owl?" Was I really going to England for _seven years_? There was only one way to find out.

"MOM! DAD!!!" I ran out of my room, carrying the envelope, the papers, and my bodyweight with me.

"Honey, what is--oh! Tim, she got it! She got the letter!" Mom started jumping up and down with my dad, both of them excited. What in the world???

"Angel, I'm sorry for not telling you earlier, darling," Mom said. "Sit down, and we'll explain everything."

"It's so marvelous!" Dad gleamed with a new spunk I'd never really seen in him before. An ex-Navy aircraft tech, Dad has always been one for discipline and order. I got all my math and organizational skills from him. Unfortunately, I also got his slow metabolism rate and thin hair.

"Darling, sit down, she's no idea what we're talking about," Mom scolded him. Mom, a college dropout with all kinds of creative backgrounds, is a sunshiny, ever-smiling person. She loves to sew, draw, read, and write, all of which she passed on to me. Unfortunately, I also got her double-colored eyes and streaking brown/blond/red hair. She, too, has a slow metabolism rate and some muscles to boot. She and I share the same size.

All in all, we're a pretty weird family, especially if you throw David, a fluke of nature, into the mix. He has Mom's sunny disposition and creativity, but none of either of my parents' attributes. You know how some things skip a generation? He's got white-blond hair, inherited through my dad's dad. Also through my dad, he got the skinny but powerful body of my grandmother.

"So what is going on?" I asked.

"You remember when you said you'd do _anything_ to be a foreign exchange student?" Mom asked.

"Well, yeah," I said. And I'd meant it, too. 

"You know my father is British, right? And that my brother still lives in England?" Dad said. He looked, in all honesty, as though he was going to burst in happiness.

"Yeah." How could I forget? I'd always envied my cousin Draco. He got to live in England! It always had creeped me out a little when he came over to visit us once, though. He was such a cruel person! When he was here, he left a scar on me that I doubt will heal very soon.

"Darling, you know all those strange things you often do, when you're angry, or scared?" Mom asked, now trying to sound gentle. I knew what she meant. One time, I accidentally lit a man on fire because he'd scared me. How was I supposed to know he was a clown trying to make me laugh?

"Yeah."

"I don't know how to tell you this without being blunt, so," Mom paused. "Angel, you're a witch."  
"A _witch_?! Coming from my own-"  
"Not _that_ kind of witch, Angel," Dad interrupted sharply. "My brother is a very famous wizard in England. But you won't be going to stay with Lucius. A nice family has agreed to take you on as their own during the summer months. The other nine months out of the year, you will be in school."  
"What? You mean I have to go to school and _stay there_?" I asked.

"Well, yes," Mom smiled. "It'll be an adventure, darling. You have no idea how much this means to me. You're going to learn magic and find something you can use your talents for. You're the first in the Marling family tree to have magic in you!"

"Magic? Like, what kind of magic, Mom?" I asked. "How will I get there? Who's going to take me?"  
"Why, I will be," said a voice behind me. I turned around and there was my Uncle Lucius and my Cousin Draco.

"Lucius! I didn't hear you come in!" Mom shouted in surprise. She hopped out of her chair. "We didn't expect you to come so soon, it's only eight o'clock."  
"I'm sorry, Molly, forgive my rudeness," Uncle Lucius said. "We saw that the door was open, and so..."  
"Quite all right, quite all right," Dad said, smiling. "How have you been, Lucius? How's your lovely wife?"  
"Oh, she's fine," Uncle Lucius nodded.

"Draco, why don't you and Angel go and play?" Mom said, putting a hand on his shoulder. 

"Of course, Aunt Molly," Draco bowed his head. "Hello, Angel. How have you been?"

"Well, Draco," I smiled half-heartedly. Even being in his presence again was unnerving. "Come on, would you like to see my room?"  
"Sure," he shrugged. 

"SISSY!!! I thought we was gonna play Final--oh, hello!" David came to a halt in the dining room entranceway. "Who're you guys?" David was born after the last time Uncle Lucius and Draco had visited.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Mom smiled. "Draco, Lucius, this is our son, David. David, why don't you and Angel show Draco around the house? I'm sure Draco's never played Final Fantasy before, either."  
David's eyes went round as saucers as he stared at our cousin. Actually, I could tell that Draco and Lucius both had that same white-blond hair as David did. In fact, I'd say that David and Draco looked more like brothers than David and I did.

"You've never played Final Fantasy before?"

"No. Should I have?" Draco stared at David with a simper that I was sure couldn't be confused with a smile. David just grinned again.

"Yeah! It's the bestest game there is!"  
"David, let's show Draco around the house first, okay?" I said. Draco probably wouldn't like Final Fantasy all that much.

"Okay!" David grinned again. "Hey, Sissy, Mom said that you're going on a trip! Where are you going?"

"She's going to school in England with me," Draco said. He did smile this time. "Perhaps you will join us in...how old are you?"

"I'm nine," David smiled.  
"Two years, then," Draco said. "We'll be third years."  
"Third years?" I asked.

"We do things differently in England, I suppose," Draco said importantly. He studied his nails, which were perfect compared to mine, which were all chewed and jagged. "Hogwarts is a special school for witches and wizards of eleven years of age. They enter at the age of eleven and graduate after seven years."

Although he was creepy, Draco was very informative.

"Dad decided to go ahead and buy your books," Draco said. "He said that you'd be like your mom. Wanting to read at any given turn."  
"How'd he know that?"

"Uncle Tim."

"Oh."  
"Sissy's leaving at the end of the week, right?" David asked.

"I guess so, babe," I shrugged. "Looks like it."  
"Didn't your parents tell you anything?"

"Nope."  
"Figures. It wasn't a sure thing that you'd get in. After all, you live in the States."

"What's that mean?"

"Hogwarts has never taken on a student from this far overseas," Draco answered. "It just was never possible."  
"Why?"

"The Headmasters."  
Like that helped. Draco never liked telling it straight. He would simply give an answer that could go either way.

"So, how come my dad didn't become a wizard, if our family's so strong?" David asked. 

"Uncle Tim is a Squib. That means he can't do magic."

"Oh...So what do you call a person who can't do magic if he wasn't born in a magic ancestry?" I asked.

"Muggle."

That word! Muggle...The dream flashed back to me in an array of splendor. Sakura...Clow Reed...the Clow Cards...the tigers...the teenagers...

Maybe Draco would know something about it.  
"Hey, Draco, do you know who Clow Reed is?"

"Yeah. He's famous, of course I know him. How'd you find out?"  
"Ah...Internet?" I lied.

"You don't know exactly who he is," Draco guessed.

"No, I don't."  
"Hey, Sissy, I thought we were going to show Draco the house," David said. "Why are we standing in the hall?"

"Sorry, kitsune," I smiled. "Let's go sit on the couch. I'll play Final Fantasy IX with you while Draco explains whom Clow Reed is. Sound good to you, Draco?"

"Sure."

"So, who's Clow Reed?" I asked, seated on the couch moments later. Draco was sort of mesmerized by the intricate controller and console I was plugging into the TV set.

"He was a famous magician, with an English father and a Chinese mother. He crafted nineteen magic Clow Cards using both Eastern and Western magic."

Well, that explained the Clow Cards. 

"How long ago did he live?"

"About seven hundred years ago. The Clow Cards have been lost for a long time, but there's rumor it's in Japan now."  
Seven hundred years? 

"What about tigers?"

"Tigers? What about them?"

"Well...I saw a picture of the Clow Cards on the Internet, and there was a picture of what looked like a tiger beside them."  
"You mean Cerberus. He's the Creature of the Seal, the Guardian of the Sun. He protects the front cover of the Clow's book. There's also Yue, the Guardian of the Moon. He looks like a teenage boy with long white hair and angel's wings, or so the legends say."

"Speaking of legends..." David smiled. "Sissy, look! It's Kuja!!!"

"Kuja? Oh, not him again," I muttered under my breath.

"Who's Kuja? Where?"

"On the TV," I pointed. "Hold on, I gotta read. 'You will never win, Monkey Boy! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!'. 'Come back here! Come back!'

'Oh, Zidane, what'll we do?' 'We're going after them. Come on!'"

And the screen went black. The Hilda Garde III appeared and suddenly I had control of it. David had handed me the controller. Again.

"You play a good villain," Draco smirked. 

"Ya think?" I asked. It was as close to a compliment as Draco has ever paid me. "I'm only reading it."

"Do you act?"

"Nah, I'm a writer. But it's just as important to know character voices and traits as it does to act," I shrug. "After all, I control the actor."

"True. Maybe I'll read your stuff," Draco shrugged. "So what is this Final Fantasy thing?"  
"It's a game. You play by using this controller to control the characters. Final Fantasy is what's known as an RPG--a role playing game. In this one, we play Zidane, that guy right there," I pointed at the blond monkey-tailed boy. "As he helps Princess Garnet fight the evil Kuja, who happens to also be his brother. There are other characters and stuff, but that's the main plot."

"Like playing a story out yourself," he nodded. "Wicked cool."

***

So, what do ya'll think? Cool? Cool? It gets better. Believe me! Review, please. I love reviews, I thrive on their very existence! Strawberry Cheesecake and Double Chocolate Chips! ^_^


	2. Packing and Playstations

Hey, everyone! I decided to go ahead and update a little. How is everyone enjoying the story so far? It may follow some of J.K. Rowling and CLAMP's work for a while. But I've got some pretty original ideas, I might add. Like the Bermuda Triangle, for example.

            Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Cardcaptor Sakura.

            Quote of the Update: "I'm famous and I can't even remember what I'm famous for." –Harry Potter, _The Sorcerer's Stone._

Jaded Angels and Silken Blossoms 

Chapter 2: _Packing and Playstations_

***

The week progressed without a hitch. David and I showed Draco all the things that he was deprived of. I showed him the Internet, and showed him the "web page" I had found the information about Clow Reed on. Actually, it must be a pretty popular topic. I found a website on it easily and showed him it, pointing out stuff I'd learned "before", which I was actually learning for the first time.

Unlike my first impressions of Draco, David actually got along pretty well with him. Maybe it's a blond thing? Anyway, Draco seemed a lot nicer now that we were both older. Maybe he'd just grown up?

That last night was the best and worst of my life. Mom made a feast of spaghetti and meatballs, my favorite dish. She even let me help. I love parsley and green onions, and anything that I make which can have them in it, does. I added a special ingredient to the mix, one, which David admits, makes spaghetti a very delicious thing. Honey. 

(AN-I actually do this. Honey, parsley, green onions, and garlic make the _best_ spaghetti ever! And yes, David loves spaghetti now. I forced him to try _my_ spaghetti. ^_^)

"Angel, have you packed yet?" Mom asked once she finished serving the cheesecake. (My favorite dessert!)

"Some," I answered. "I've got my better clothes packed, some of my books, and all the essentials. I've just gotta get together some of my more personal things. Like pictures and stuff."

"Good. Don't pack too much, okay? Just stuff you know you can carry. You can get an owl when you get your school supplies and send it here. We'll send whatever you forget or couldn't carry," Mom smiled.

"So how will you be getting there, Lucius?" Dad asked.

"Oh, probably by airplane. We came by broom, but as Angel doesn't have one, we'll have to settle for Muggle transportation," he shrugged. "It really isn't a problem."  
"Actually, we do have a broomstick," Dad said, chuckling. "Remember, the last time you came? Three years ago? An old Cleansweep 7, you came riding in on. Your wife fell ill and you carried her home on it despite our protests."  
"Ah, yes," Lucius smiled. "Would you like that, Angel?"

Ride a broomstick? All the way to England? Was he kidding? "Of course, I'd love to!" I shouted. "But what about our things?"  
"I can go ahead and Apparate them to our house tonight," Lucius said. "We won't have to worry about them at all. It's up to your parents, then."

"I have no problems," Dad shook his head. "Molly?"

"Well..." Mom looked uncertain, which almost certainly meant no. 

"It wouldn't cost anything that way," I said quickly. That was all she needed.

"Okay. But be careful, Angel."  
"Don't worry about it," Lucius said. "I flew on the Quidditch team back in my day. I was a Chaser. She'll be in very little danger. Draco, why don't you and Angel go in the back yard and practice? I'll set a spell around the perimeter, but don't go above the fence line."

Draco and I nodded.

"A broomstick ride all the way to England!" I murmured under my breath. "This is going to be awesome!"

"It was cool coming over here, too," Draco said. "I was afraid we'd have to ride a plane back. That wouldn't have been much fun."

"Yea! Sissy gets to look like a _real _witch!" David yelled. "Can I watch you practice?"

David's eyes glittered up at us, sparkling like morning dew on a cool autumn day. He was such a cute, sweet, smart little guy. It had just hit me; I wasn't going to see him again for two whole years. And I wouldn't get to see my parents for seven years.

"Here it is, Lucius's old Cleansweep 7," Dad said, coming out of the closet with a huge grin on his face. "Hope you're ready to fly, Angel. This little beauty looks perfect for you."

I smiled at him and took the broom.

"Thanks, Dad. Come on, Draco, let's go."

***

The Cleansweep 7 was an older model compared to Draco's broom, but I can't remember the name of his. As new as it was, however, Draco's broom wasn't well taken care of, unlike the Cleansweep 7. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Uncle Lucius had ridden this broom over the Atlantic for the maiden flight. 

"You've got to have a good grip on the handle, and the lower portion of the broom," Draco explained. His grip on his broom actually looked a bit shaky, so I sort of made it up on my own. I know Draco is fairly bright, but sometimes he can act a bit like his hair color. Just like David.

"Like this?"

"Yeah. Now kick off the ground, but gently," he looked around the backyard. "Dad put up Muggle defenses so no one will look over or through the fence or hear us, but they will see us if we go over that fence."

"Okay," I nodded and, feeling a bit like a dork in a tutu and point shoes, leaped off the ground. The broom came to an upward-pointed levitation. I pointed the handle a bit downward so I'd level out, and hovered about six inches off the ground.

"You're pretty good," Draco said, his almost nonexistent eyebrows shooting into perfect arcs. "Most girls I know fall off, or at least waver, their first time."

"I've just got really good hearing," I shrugged. 

"What does your hearing have to do with flying a broom? You usually can't hear anything but wind in the sky."  
"No, you misunderstood me," I said, smiling. Finally, I'd caught him. "A person's ear contains their balance fluid. The better you can hear, the better your balance is."

"Oh." 

            "Wow, Angel," David said. "You're really smart. Will I be as smart as you someday?"  
"If you read and study as much as I do, yes," I smiled. "Draco, the only reason I know that is that I read a lot of books about skateboarders and surfers. Muggles who use boards to do tricks."  
"Oh. You do read a lot, but it's a double-edged sword for you," Draco smirked and ran back inside. "I have to get packed up."

Double-edged sword? I knew what he meant, even though he'd done his best (as Draco, anyway) to cover his meaning. He was talking about my weight. 

I had always been big-boned. It was just my lot in life, I guess. I wasn't really overweight until this past year, though. I don't know what happened, I just started gaining weight all of the sudden. Now I weigh over two hundred pounds at the age of eleven.

That little crack did it for me, though. By the time school was back in session, I was going to be a skinny, strong girl, just like I was in my dream last night. 

***

"RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!"

"HE'S COMING! HE'S COMING! ARGH!"

I was running again, running down Tomoeda. On my broom one second, running down the streets of Tomoeda again. Instead of running with the crowd, I headed for the place where I'd seen Sakura and Clow Reed. There was another name she'd called him. Eriol. 

"Eriol!"

"That's the transfer student you were talking about?"

It appeared that I had arrived earlier. They were all awake, but the tigers were nowhere in sight. Neither were the two teenagers, the girl and the boy. There were three new people here, though. Two tiny stuffed animals, both floating and talking in midair, and one teenage girl. She looked normal.

"What's going on?!"

Now I could hear everything.

"Akizuki...from Toya's class!" Sakura shouted, looking at the teenage girl. So her name was Akizuki. 

"Righto," said Akizuki. Then in her place appeared the same teenage girl with butterfly wings. "But you may call me Ruby Moon."  
So she can change into that other teenager, Ruby Moon.

"As for me," said the black stuffed animal. "This is our first meeting."

He changed into the black tiger.

"Who are you?" said the boy. Clow Reed was chanting something, but my attention was drawn to this other boy. "You, girl. What are you doing here?"

"M-Me?" I said. "You can see me?"

"Of course I can see you. Who are you? What are you doing here?"

"I'm...Angel," I answered at last. "Angel Indigo. I don't know what I'm doing here. What's your name?"

"Syaoran Li."  
Clow Reed had finished his chant. Syaoran Li turned his attention back to him. "I'll deal with you later."

"My name in this life is Eriol," said Clow Reed. "In my former life it was Clow Reed."

Duh, I knew that. But what does he mean by "this life" and "former life"? Could it be that he was reincarnated?

"You seem puzzled," said Syaoran Li. "Why?"  
I struggled to listen to the others' conversation, trying to learn more about this strange situation in Tomoeda. In exasperation, I turned to Syaoran Li.

"I'm dreaming, or at least I think I'm dreaming," I said. "This is the second night I've seen this, but last night you guys didn't seem to be able to see me."  
"A solid precognition dream," Syaoran Li said. "You're magic, then. A very rare magician."

"I suppose so," I shrugged, looking on again. "I just learned that I'm magic yesterday."

"There is something I want, Cerberus," said Clow Reed. "Let's begin, shall we?"

"Begin?" I said to myself. Oh..."He's the one who covered the sun and the moon." Sure enough, the sun and the moon were eclipsed. Sakura was watching them both in surprise. Syaoran Li was watching me.

"You stayed longer in the other dream."  
"In the other dream, I wasn't here at this time," I said. "I was running down the street, watching everyone keel over and fall asleep."

"Fall asleep..." Syaoran Li gasped. "Brace yourself!"

I was hit with a wave of violent magic energy, forcing me to want to go to sleep.

"Tomoyo! Tomoyo!!" The black-haired girl had fallen to sleep. Syaoran Li had resisted, but I could tell that he was still fighting it. I wasn't so much.

"You must be a powerful magician," Syaoran Li said, grunting to stay standing. "You resisted to magic of Clow Reed. The most powerful magician in history."

"You help Sakura," I said. "I'll go help take care of that other girl. Tomoyo, wasn't it?"

"Why help now? It's only a solid precognition dream," Syaoran Li said. "It won't matter until you are here for real, when it really happens."

"I learned many things, Syaoran Li. One of them is to never, ever, under any circumstances, let someone down who needs your help," I said. "That comes from reading 'too much', as my cousin so plainly put it."

"You can never read too much," Syaoran Li smiled and walked, straight and tall, to help Sakura.

"When held in this state...of the night is not lifted by the time the sun rises...the people of this city will sleep forever," Clow Reed said.

"What do you mean?" Sakura shouted.

"I mean...forever..." 

"Angel! Angel, it's time to wake up! Come on, I wanna play Final Fantasy one more time before you go! Please, Angel, wake up!!!" 

"Who is that?" Syaoran Li asked. "I can hear them."

"My brother," I answered, sort of shocked. "I'm leaving for magic school today. I'm a transfer student into Hogwarts, in England."  
"Good," Syaoran Li nodded. "When the time comes that you are here, you will be a great asset."

I nodded. "I've gotta go. Have fun with loopy up there."

David's face came into focus again. 

"Hey, babe, what's up?" I smiled, sitting up in the bed.

"Play Final Fantasy!!!" he shouted. 

"Okay, lemme get dressed first," I glanced at the wall clock. Six o'clock, on the dot. What...? 

***

David, Draco, and I played Final Fantasy all day long, while Uncle Lucius, Mom, and Dad made final preparations. Among them included getting my empty trunk (for school stuff; I was going to be able to leave anything I didn't want at school in my host family's house), my bags (two of them), and Uncle Lucius's things. 

Things went smoothly throughout the day, and when night finally fell, we all stood out in the backyard. Mom made me wear thick jeans, socks, and shoes and a windbreaker jacket, because Uncle Lucius warned her that it would be cold above the clouds.

"Are you ready to go, Angel?" Uncle Lucius asked. 

"Yes, sir," I smiled.

No, I wasn't. I wasn't ready to leave my family behind and go to a strange new world. I wasn't prepared, I could never prepare myself to leave and not see my parents for seven years. No one could ever prepare their heart for something like that. Courage filled my fire and burned my veins in my effort to simply smile and say those words, which were etched upon my heart.  
            "Bye, Mom. Bye, Dad. Bye, David. I love you all," I smiled again and hopped on the Cleansweep 7, which Uncle Lucius had said I could keep once we were in England. 

"Bye, Sissy. Send me an owl, okay? I wanna know what you're up to!" David wagged his finger at me. "Don't get in trouble. I know you."

"I know you, better, kitsune," I said, looking at him knowingly. "Stay out of mischief, my little fox imp."

I waved good-bye even as I kicked off the ground and flew after Uncle Lucius and Draco into the night sky. The crescent moon gave us little light, and the city lights took away the night stars, giving us even less. But still I could see my little brother, my mother, and my father, all of them waving. This was really good-bye for now.

"Bye, everybody!" I called down. Then, facing my worst fears up till now, I urged the Cleansweep 7 to keep its namesake and flew into the night. Following a dragon and his father.

***

"Hey, Draco, do you know anything about this host family?" I shouted. We were well on our way to England and I was really glad Mom made me wear that windbreaker. "Mom just said they're another wizard family!"

"Only a little!" I heard his voice back. "I don't know why they offered to host, though!"

"Why's that?"  
            "They're a very large and very poor wizarding family," Uncle Lucius shouted. "The Weasleys! I work with Arthur at the Ministry of Magic!"

"They all have red hair and hand-me-downs," Draco shouted again. "I don't know much else about them!"

"They're distantly related to us!" Lucius shouted. "Most wizarding families are!"

We didn't talk again for a long time. It was really hard to hear each other over the sound of the wind. The Atlantic Ocean beneath us rolled and crashed upon itself. The stars were bright here, brighter than most. They lit the ocean waters in a beautiful splendor.

"Look!" Draco shouted. "Dolphins!"

Indeed they were. A whole pod of dolphins were playing beneath us, leaping into the water and out again. They followed us for miles, but at last the sun was rising and we had to land. But where were we going to land? I was so exhausted I could probably fall asleep on my broom.

"The Bermuda Triangle is about half a mile more!" Uncle Lucius shouted. "We're almost there!"

"But...isn't the Bermuda Triangle dangerous?" I shouted.

"Only if you're a Muggle!" Draco shouted back. "It's a place for wizards to rest on transatlantic flights!"

That sure explains a lot.

***

The Bermuda Triangle turned out to be a single simple island covered in beds. Protective barriers were formed around each one once an occupant sits on it. Anyone who tries to reach through the barrier gets a nice electrical shock, which will knock someone out if they try to continue through the barrier. It's a really cool safety precaution.

But I didn't pay much attention to it. After I lay down in the bed I chose, I was fast asleep before anyone could say otherwise.

This daytime slumber was blank for a while. Suddenly, it was white as a page in a book, with the exception of a single boy. Syaoran Li had appeared in my sleep again, for the second time.

"What is this?" I asked.

"I don't know. It appears we are linked," he shook his head roughly. "I woke up early this morning. I think I fell asleep in class."  
            "That's not good. I was flying over the Atlantic with my Uncle and cousin and we stopped by the Bermuda Triangle to get some sleep," I smiled. "I think someone's trying to tell us something."  
            "I agree. The question is, who?"

            "I dunno," I shrugged, sitting down in the blank white space. "This is getting tedious. Three sleep times, this is not good. Hey, I've got an idea."

            "What?"

            "Pinch me."  
            "What? Why?" Syaoran Li stared at me.   
            "Let's see if this is a dream. In a dream, you cannot fell pain. Simple as that," I shrugged and held out my arm. "Come on, at least then we'll know what's going on. I've never seen you before in my life, it's impossible that I'm dreaming about you for no good reason."

            "I'm not exactly a figment of your imagination," he said. He sighed and pinched my arm. A tiny surge of pain shot up my arm.

            "Ow!" I closed my eyes for a second. "Well, at least we know this ain't no normal dream. Hey, wait a sec. Aren't you oriental?"

            "Chinese."

            "How can you speak English so well?"

            "I'm not, I'm speaking Japanese," he blinked several times. 

            "O-okay-ay, this is getting creepy," I said. A sudden draft made me shiver. "You know, you really ought to pay attention in class. You should wake up."

            "Then you'll dream blank again," Syaoran Li said. 

            I shrugged. "I left you to dream blank last night while I was flying over the Atlantic. Besides, your education is more important than a blank void for a few hours. What time is it?"

            "Nearly noon here."

            "And I'd guess that I'm at minus two or one hours at the Bermuda triangle…" I murmured.

            "I don't think time has anything to do with it," Syaoran Li said. "If it's noon here, it's noon there. If it's midnight here, it's midnight there."

            "I think you're right," I said. "How else would we be dreaming a solid precognitive dream at the same time. Maybe that's what the first dream for me was, to synchronize with yours."

            "Perhaps."

            "Li-san, wake up. Li-san," said a whispered voice.

            "Who's that?" I asked.

            "Sakura…" he said. His voice went distant. Suddenly, the entire white void was filled with memories of the girl called Sakura. Syaoran Li's memories of her. His face went beet red as he tried to cover them up in vain.

            "You like her, don't you," I smiled. 

            "Uh…um…"  
            "Li-san, please, wake up…" said another voice.

            "That would be…Tomoyo? Am I right?"

            He nodded.

            "Go on to them," I smiled. "I'll be fine. I've got a lot to think about."

            And my mind was blank once more.

            ***

            The remainder of the trip to England was uneventful, as we didn't really want to yell to be heard any more. The sun was just peaking over the horizon when we touched down on Uncle Lucius's perfectly manicured front lawn. He lived in a mansion.

            "This is where you _live_?" I said, staring.

            "Yes. We are…well off, you might say," Lucius smiled. There was something about that smile that made me stop short. "I'll Apparate your things to the Burrow, and then you can use Floo Powder for yourself."

            With a crack, he was gone.

            "What's the Burrow?"

            "That's where the Weasleys live," Draco explained. "Horrid place, I've heard."

            That scared me.

            "What's Floo Powder?"

            "You walk into a fire and shout the Burrow and you're there," Draco said.

            That scared me worse.

            ***

            "Dobby, where are you?" Draco shouted into the large hall.

            "Here, sir! Here," a tiny little impish creature hobbled into the hall, wearing a pillowcase as if it were a toga. "I've made the young master and mistress some lunch in the dining room, sir. Soup, sir."  
            "Very well, Dobby. You may go," Draco waved him off. And he nearly tripped over himself to get away.

            "What was that?" I asked.

            "Dobby, the house elf," Draco answered supremely. "He's a servant."

            "Why does he wear that pillowcase? Can't you give him some decent clothes?"

            "No, that would release him," Draco said, eyes wide. "If we give him so much as a sock, he's free to go. I know it sounds weird, but it hurts a house elf to free him. They're weird little things, I think."

            "Weird…"

            We ate a lunch of delicious beef stew, but soon I was called to the fireplace. Uncle Lucius was waiting, a pot of powder in his hands.

            "I expect you've never traveled by Floo Powder, so I will be going first to show you how it's done," said Uncle Lucius. "The key here is to shout, very, very clearly, the Burrow. Nothing more, nothing less. Understood?"

            "Yes, sir," I nodded.

            "Draco, hold the powder for us. I will return in a few moments."

            "Yes, Father," Draco said, taking the pot. Lucius grabbed a fistful of the powder with a grace unheard of and stepped up to the empty grate.

            "Don't be alarmed, the fire will not hurt you at all."

            I nodded.

            He stepped into the grate and threw down the powder, and the grate erupted into green flame. His arms firmly at his side and his eyes wide open, Uncle Lucius shouted, "THE BURROW!" and was gone.

            "Your turn, Angel," Draco held up the pot. "Just speak clearly. Okay?"

            "Okay," I said, breathing in deeply. Stepping into the flames, which still ran deep, I nearly choked. They never mentioned that part. Never mind that, Angel, speak clearly. "THE BURROW!"

            "Oh, dear, look at her, I don't know why you chose to come by Floo Powder at all, Mr. Malfoy, I really don't," said a voice. I was still trying to get the dust out of my eyes.

            "My dear, it was the quickest way here, and I'm sure you know it as well as I do," said Uncle Lucius. His voice had a cruel undermined tone to it, unlike when he was speaking with my parents or Draco, or even to Dobby. "If you'll excuse me, I must be going. Good-bye, Angel."

            Lucius was gone before I could answer.

            "Oh, dear, that man," said the woman again. "Well, anyway, dear? Dear, are you all right? Ron, go get her some water, she got some of that awful smoke in her throat."

            "I-I'm all r-right," I said, coughing. I blinked some of the grain from my eyes. "Does he always treat you like that?"

            "Oh, Lucius? Of course, he doesn't like us very much at all," said the woman. "I'm sorry, I've forgotten my manners. I'm Molly Weasley, you must be Angel Indigo, I am I right?"

            "Yes, ma'am," I said, giving a start. She had the same first name as my mother. "I'm sorry to come so abruptly—"

            "It's not your fault. You must be tired from your flight over. How was the airplane?" she said. She didn't know we'd flown over on broomsticks.

            "Here's the water, Mom," said a boy. He was about my age, tall, and, just like his mom, had red wavy hair. You could definitely see the resemblance. 

            "Thank you, Ron. Angel, this is my son, Ronald Weasley. He'll be a first year, too. Ron, this is Angel, our foreign exchange student. She'll be staying with us until you graduate."

            "Cool," he grinned. "Why the big secret, Mum?"

            "Dumbledore wasn't sure he could convince the Ministry, Ron," Molly said. "He asked us to keep it under wraps."

            "Apparently from me, too," I said. "My Mom and Dad didn't say anything to either me or my brother until Uncle Lucius and Draco came to call."

            "Uncle Lucius?" Molly blinked at me.

            "Yeah. He's my Dad's brother. But my Dad can't do magic, so…"

            "You mean the Malfoys actually have a Squib in the family?" Ron was laughing so hard his face had turned purple. 

            "Ronald Weasley, it's no laughing matter—"

            "I think it is," I smiled. I liked Ron already. "Uncle Lucius gives me the willies. I'm glad that I get to learn about magic and stuff like this. Like a…a…what's the word again?"

            "Like a Muggle?" said another voice.

            "Cool! Look, Fred, a new sister! What'd you do, Mom, adopt one?" Two tall young men walked into the room, both staring at me. Twins, I could tell right from looking at them.

            "No, I did not adopt her," Molly snapped. "Forgive their rudeness, Angel. Fred, George, I'd like you to meet Angel Indigo, our foreign exchange student."

            "Foreign exchange?" said Fred—or was it George?

            "We'll get everything sorted out later," Molly said. "At dinnertime, when your father and I can explain it to all of you at once." She sighed, then turned back to me. "Angel, you'll be sleeping with Ginny, our youngest. Ron, can you show her to Ginny's room? Your things are already in there, along with a chest of drawers and such."

            "Oh, _that's_ why you got out the old bed and chest," Fred grinned. "We'll help settle her in, Mom, no worries." He had a really sweet British accent, but I wasn't quite sure of him. I knew he, or really, they weren't quite as funny as Uncle Lucius, I knew to be aware of him. I get feelings like this all the time. It's just that, it's kind of getting stronger.

            "Come on," Ron said. He tugged on my arm once and let go. "This way."

            "Angel, was it?" said one of the twins. 

            "Pretty name."

            "We oughta know."

            "Thanks," I smiled. They spoke so much alike, it was almost like I was talking to one person. There were slight differences between them, though. They weren't very noticeable, but I could distinguish them. "So, you're Fred and George?"

            "Yup. I'm Fred, and this is George."

            "If you can tell the difference," George laughed.

            "I can. I used to know a nice set of quadruplets back in the States, and it wasn't easy telling the difference between them, either," I said. "Yukina, Hitomi, Momiji, and Koume were some of my best friends. Growing up. They were born in Japan, but moved to America with their parents when we were all seven years old."

            "Whoa."

            "I like her already."

            "Think she can really—"

            "—tell the difference?"

            "Here we are. Hey, Ginny, are you in there?" Ron knocked on the door of a bedroom. 

            "Yeah, Ron, come on in. Did she come yet?"

            "How'd you know about all this?" Fred and George asked as one as we all walked into the room. It was a cool room, especially for a girl. In case you haven't already noticed, I'm a bit of a tomboy. I would really have hated it if I had walked into this room and seen white lace and pink frills.

            "Mom asked me about it first," Ginny said. "You must be Angel. I'm Ginny."

            "Hi!" I grinned. "So…um…nice room?" Like I knew what to say? I was suddenly dumped into the middle of her life, taking away her privacy and adding one more to her already huge family. And apparently there were more coming, because Molly had said that she wanted to explain the "everybody". 

            "Thanks. Welcome," Ginny giggled. "Don't be so shy! Look, Mr. Malfoy already brought your things in. I was just looking at your Cleansweep 7, it's cool. And in top-notch condition."

            "Thank you," I said. "I rode it all the way over here, following two guys on faster models, so I'm kind of tired of the sight of it. Actually, it wasn't really mine until yesterday."

            "You flew all the way over here from Wichita, Kansas, to the Malfoy mansion on a Cleansweep 7? Without a break?" Ron said, unable to believe it.

            "Well, we stopped in the Bermuda Triangle."

            "You got to stay on the Bermuda Triangle?"

            "Whoa…cool!" Ginny grinned again. "What was it like, flying all that way?"

            "Really, really cold and wet," I said, shivering. "We flew through some low clouds, and it was so cold. I'm glad I wore my jacket, but now I'm hot."

            "Floo powder method will do that for you," Fred said.

            "Yeah, I remember the first time we used Floo Powder," George grinned.

            "We were supposed to go to the Ministry to get Dad—"

            "—But instead, we landed in Fudge's house!"

            "Who's Fudge?" I asked.

            "The Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge. Dad's boss," Ginny said. "Here, sit down. Wait till Dad gets home, he's going to be so excited to meet you!"

            "Thanks. I'm exhausted, but I know if I go to sleep now, I'm going to mess up my sleep schedule," I said. And, I added secretly, I need to talk to Syaoran Li again. "So, how come your dad is so excited to meet me? I mean, I know I'm from America and stuff, but…"

            "Because your Muggle-born," Fred said. "Dad loves Muggles."

            "She isn't _exactly_ Muggle born," Ron said. "Her Dad's a Squib."

            "Really? Who's your Uncle slash Aunt?" Ginny asked.

            "Get this—Lucius Malfoy," said Ron. "Weird, huh?"

            "Nice person like you, related to the Malfoys?" Ginny said, looking shocked. "Wait, what about your last name?"

            "Dad and Mom took on a new last name when they got married," I said. "Dad didn't like the name Malfoy for some weird reason. They didn't exactly like Mom's maiden name of Cratchet, either. So, they decided on Indigo."

            "Cool. I wouldn't like Malfoy as a last name, either," Fred said. 

            "Dad doesn't seem to like his brother much," I shrugged. "I dunno. Draco and my brother look a lot alike, though. It's uncanny, it really is. My brother's the only blond in our family. He ought to be joining us in two years, if everything falls through right."

            "In other words, if you turn out to be a good student," Ginny said. "They're only going to continue the exchange program if the program seems successful. A lot lies on your shoulders, Angel."

            That didn't bother me half as much as the prospect of not seeing my brother in two years. If I wasn't a good student at Hogwarts, they won't take on my brother. If that happens, I won't see him for seven years, either. 

            "So, we've got some time before dinner," Ron said. "Wanna tour the house?"

            "Sure," I smiled. "Hey, do you have a Playstation?"

            "What's a Playstation?" Ginny asked.

The beginning turned out to be a little longer than I thought it was. What's funny is that I made spaghetti the night I put this up and the night I was writing it. Hmm…

Angel seems a bit paranoid, doesn't she? It's one of her flaws. She's gotta have a few flaws, otherwise there wouldn't be a story to write, now would there? Anyway, please review. I love reviews.


	3. Professor Dumbledore's Visit

This thing's a lot longer than I thought. I'm going to get ya'll to Hogwarts before I finish this particular update.

Disclaimer: I do not own Cardcaptor Sakura or Harry Potter.

Quote of the Chapter: "She knows what it's like when the one you love doesn't feel the same." –Syaoran Li

Jaded Angels and Silken Blossoms 

Chapter 3: Dumbledore and Diagon Alley

***

            After I got a tour of the house, Molly asked us to set the table—outside. Apparently her two oldest sons had also come home. All to meet me. The Weasleys sure knew how to make me feel at home.

            "Hey, this must be the famous Angel," said a really tall guy. He was cute, with long, long red hair and an earring. Another guy, really built and reminding me stubbornly of an older version of Fred and George in looks only, was grinning away.

            "Famous? My name's Angel, yes, but what's this about being famous?" I said. My head cocked to the side.

            "Well, your name's really famous now. Dumbledore's got a really nice welcome for you at school," said the tall one. "I'm Bill, and this is Charlie."

            "Nice to meet you," I said. "What kind of welcome?" That scared me.

            "Well, he's gonna let you fight a dragon, and then swim with the giant squid and—"

            "George!" Molly shouted at him. "Don't worry, Angel, they're doing nothing of the sort. They're simply going to ask you to stand up and have it for the record who you are and why you're here."

            "I'd rather fight the dragon," I said nervously. "I'm no good in front of a crowd. And that's three or more people."

            The Weasleys all laughed.

            "Don't worry, you'll be fine," Molly said. "Now, everyone's here but Arthur and Percy. What is keeping that man?"

            "He's probably wrapping up another raid," said Charlie. "You know Dad, he can't run away from anything Muggle."

            "Including that confounded car he found," Molly said, putting her hands on her hips. 

            "Car?" I asked. 

            "Yeah, it's an old, old car he bought off some old guy," Ron shrugged. "It runs, but that's about all it does."

            "I could fix it to drive, at least," I said. "I'm pretty good with cars. My dad's got a '63 Valient that I helped him make from ground up. Is it a carapace car, or a unibody?"

            "Uh…no clue," shrugged Ron. "Most magic people don't have any use for a car, unless they've got kids that have to go to a Muggle school."

            "I've noticed," I laughed. "Who needs a car when you can fly a broom or use a fireplace or Apparate wherever you want?"  
            "Well, not wherever," Molly chuckled. "You can't Apparate in certain places. And underage wizards can't use magic without an adult nearby."

            "So if I wanted to practice some simple spells, I couldn't?"

            "Around here, you can, as long as Arthur, Bill, Charlie, or I are watching you," Molly said. "You want to practice?"  
            "Later, yes," I smiled. "I really want to have a good grasp on some of the earlier chapters of our books."

            "Yes, you would do well to," Molly smiled. "Especially Potions, the teacher of that class isn't exactly easy. You already have your books, right?"

            "Yeah, Uncle Lucius bought my books so I could read them ahead of time," I said. "But I spent the last week with my little brother and Draco. Mostly playing Final Fantasy on our Playstation. Draco was really into it for a while."

            "Yes, he would be," Molly laughed. "I remember when Lily showed me how to play Nintendo. (AN-I think Nintendo was out while they were in school. Correct me if I'm wrong!) Unfortunately, this house was made when there wasn't any electricity, and we haven't much use for it anyway."

            "The city electrical company must be disappointed," I giggled.

            "Hello, Weasleys!"

            "Hey, Dad. Look who got here!" Ginny gestured to me.

            "Angel Indigo, well, hello! I didn't expect you'd be here until later tonight!" said the plump, red-haired man. He was balding, but you could still see his flaming hair, which made him look like his head was permanently on fire.

            "Uncle Lucius sort of rushed me," I said. 

            "Well, good for us, right?"

            "Right, Dad!" Fred and George said together.

            "Now, where is Percy?" Molly said. "Oh, there he is! Sit down, sit down, and we'll explain the whole situation."

***

            The "explanation" lasted long after dinner, but the whole story finally came out. My parents had been looking for this chance for a long, long time before I ever found out about it. Ever since I'd even made the suggestion of foreign exchange.

            When they finally found a host family (the Weasleys), they started sending letter after letter to the Ministry of Magic and the American Magic Association, the American magical law authority. It was only after a bit of help from my Uncle Lucius and the mysterious Albus Dumbledore that the whole thing came to be. 

            That was when I was nine years old

            Then last year, they mysteriously withdrew the "go-ahead" light and put an all-stop on preparations. It was only a week ago that the final green light had been given once again, but it was shaky right now. If I didn't do well in school, the whole program could be shut down.

            "We really shouldn't be telling you this, Fudge told us not to," Molly said nervously. "But you have a right to know."

            "Thanks for telling me," I said. "I would probably have gotten the information anyway, but it's good to not have to work so hard to find it." 

            "What I don't get is why Malfoy agreed to help," Ron said. "I mean, he doesn't exactly like us."

            "He doesn't exactly like my Dad, either," I said. "I saw him kind of giving my dad these sideways looks."

            "Mr. Malfoy believes in the 'pure blood' principal," Molly said gently. "He believes that Muggle-borns and half-breeds shouldn't have the right to a magic education."       
            "But that's wrong!" I said. 

            "Very. If we hadn't begun to interbreed in the first place, we would have died out," Arthur said gravely. "It kind of limits you to who you get to marry anyway. We're related to you, however distantly, through your father. Even I don't know how closely related we are."    

            "Well, it's getting late," Molly said. "Off to bed, all of you."

            "Good idea, Mum," said Ron. "G'night, everyone."

            "Good night," I said. "Come on, Ginny."

            "Don't stay up too late, you two," Arthur called after us. "I've got a lot of questions for you in the morning, Angel."      

            "Questions?" I said, glancing at Ginny.

            "He's going to ask about Muggles, no doubt," Ginny grinned. "He loves them to death. He collects plugs and batteries."

            "Couldn't he try stamps?"

            "What's a stamp?"

***

            "You got there safe, I take it?" Syaoran Li asked as soon as I arrived on the scene. Once again, Tomoeda showed itself and the scene from three nights played itself out.

            "Yeah," I sighed. "Too many kids in one house. Seven kids plus me, and their parents. And she is such a good cook. I don't know how I'm going to lose weight by the time school starts."

            "Well…let's see if we can't control this solid precognition. I could train you, if we can," Syaoran Li said. "The way I train, you'll lose more than just a little weight."

            "Okays," I smiled. 

            Suddenly, the scene went blank and Syaoran Li and I were standing in a blank white void. A set of stairs appeared, spiraling upward in an endless way.

            "Well, that's convenient," said Syaoran Li.

            "What should I call you?" I asked. "Li or Syaoran?"

            "Syaoran's fine. Let's start."

            ***

            Weeks passed by, but each dream came and I lost more and more weight during the night. I played Quidditch, a game that I found a lot of fun, with the Weasleys. I also helped them do chores around the house, and helped Molly do a lot. Reading my books, I practiced the early chapters of my books using Molly's wand (we still hadn't gone to get mine).

            About two weeks before it was time to leave for school, an owl flew through the window, carrying a letter and a bag. Both were addressed to me, from my parents.

            "How'd they get a hold of an owl?" I muttered as I opened the letter.

_                        Dear Angel,_

_            We went to the American wizard store here in Kansas and bought you an owl. Say hello to Sakura. It's Japanese for Cherry Blossom. Her eyes looked just like yours, that's why we chose her. What do you think?_

_            David misses you a lot. He finally is learning how to read on his own! Write him a letter soon with Sakura, he wants to write you back._

_            In the bag are some Galleons (that's wizard money) for your wand and whatever else you want to buy with it. But spend wisely! That's all you get until next year, kiddo._

_            How are the Weasleys? We heard they were really nice people. Dumbledore came to visit us and said he would be coming to see you and the Weasleys on Friday._

_            We love you, Angel. _

_            Love,_

_            Mom and Dad_

            "Hey, Angel," Ginny said. "You get a letter from your mom?"   

            "Yeah, and this owl," I said. "Her name's Sakura, what do you think?"

            Sakura was very beautiful owl with mostly white feathers and a sprinkling of gray. Her eyes were blue and green, just like mine. She really did look like a cherry blossom.

            "Wow, she's gorgeous!" Ginny smiled. "What's Sakura mean?"

            "It's Japanese for Cherry Blossom. Cute, huh?"

            Sakura was the name of that girl in my dream! The one that Syaoran's sweet on!

            "I wonder…"

            "Hmm?"

            "Nothing. I need to write them back. Can you get Sakura some water?" I asked.  
            "Sure. Hey, Percy's got a book on owl care, I'll ask if you can borrow it," she said.

            "Okay, thanks."

            I took out a piece of parchment and a pencil. I'm already used to using a quill and inkbottle, but a pencil's always been easier for me.

_                        Dear Mom and Dad,_

_            Hey! I'm good. Thanks for Sakura, she's absolutely gorgeous, I love her already. Thanks for the Galleons. Mr. Weasley's cool, he's been explaining everything he can think of about the wizarding world. In return, I'm teaching him some stuff about Muggles (that's what non-magic people are called). He's obsessed, but I like him. He's a bit funny. He collects Muggle objects, like batteries and plugs._

_            The other Weasleys are all awesome, too. I'm staying in Ginny's room, she's a year older than David. There's Ron, who's my age, and Fred and George, who're twins. Then there's Percy (he gives me the creeps). And Bill and Charlie, but they're already out of the house. Bill works for the Gringotts bank, and he's in Egypt right now cracking curses on the pyramids. Charlie works with _dragons_. He's really strong, he could pick me up!_

_            I'm training my body right now, too. I've lost a lot of weight! You wouldn't recognize me, I'm real skinny and strong now. I've also been playing a game called Quidditch with the Weasleys, and it's a lot of fun._

_            I've been reading my books and practicing spells, too. I can unlock regular locks and I can fix stuff and change stuff, too. It's really cool. I'll send David a separate letter, okay?_

_                                                            Love ya!_

_                                                      Angel Sarai Indigo_

            "Well, Sakura, how are you?" I smiled. "You really are pretty, aren't you?"  

            She hooted at me in response. But it really felt like she was talking to me. I took out another sheet of parchment and this time I wrote with a quill. David would think it's so cool. And if he would be following me, he'd need to know how to use a quill, too.

_                        Hey, David!_

_            What's up, kiddo? Have you beaten Final Fantasy IX yet? Guess what I'm using to write this? An old-fashioned quill and inkpot, isn't that cool? We have to write in this for school. _

_            I found out that I have to get really good grades in order for you to come. So I'm going to study extra hard so you can come here and join me at the Weasleys! I'm sure Molly would love to have you._

_            The Weasleys are really awesome. I've been playing a game with them called Quidditch. It's kind of like a cross between basketball and soccer and croquet. Only we play it on broomsticks! Fred and George, the twins, play on the Griffindor House team at Hogwarts. They're Beaters, they make sure that the black balls don't hurt you._

_            Quidditch is played with seven players on each team and four balls. There's the Quaffle, which the three Chasers have to put through the hoops. The there's the two Bludgers, which try to hurt the other players. The Beaters have to make sure that they don't hurt them. The Keeper is like a soccer goalkeeper, trying to keep the Quaffle out of the hoops. But then there's the Seeker, who goes after the Golden Snitch. If the Seeker catches the Snitch, the game ends. But it doesn't necessarily mean his team wins. It's all in the points._

_            So, how are you doing on your reading and writing? You better get going, kiddo! I'm counting on you!_

_                                                      Love you!_

_                                                  Angel_

            The two letters written, I got up to find Ginny. She came into the room with a bowl of water and owl food and a book tucked under her arm.

            "Here ya go," she said. "Percy said you don't have to give it back."

            "Okay," I smiled. "Thanks, Ginny. Well, Sakura, as soon as your rested, let me know when you want to leave for another transatlantic flight. I took that flight, you must be tired."

            Sakura hooted.

***

            "An owl named Sakura?" Syaoran said, an eyebrow raised in surprise. 

            "Yeah. She's really pretty," I smiled. "Thank you, Syaoran."

            "For what?"

            "For helping me achieve my goal," I said. "I'm skinnier than I've ever been before. And you helped me grow strong."

            "You sound like Sakura," Syaoran said. 

            "What do you mean?"

            "Well…she told the guy she liked that she loves him and he turned her down," he said. "Then she told me and now she feels better. She spent a week making me a yukata, just to thank me."

            "Aw…" I cooed. "It seems to me that she returns your feelings, Syaoran."

            "Y-You really think so?"

            "Of course!" I said. "There are few girls who would go to that much trouble just to thank someone, Syaoran. Very few."

            "Sakura's just one of them," Syaoran said.

            "Mmm-hmm, sure. Right," I said, smirking. I sighed. "I miss my little brother. He's such a little sweetheart. He's worked so hard to learn how to read and write, just so he can write me letters."

            "He didn't know how before?"

            "He's dyslexic. I think it would have been better if he was Japanese," I rolled my eyes. "At least then he'd be able to read forwards."  
            "Oh…I'm sorry."  
            "Don't be," I shook my head. "He's coping. I just wish I could see him. Talk to him…"

            The white space suddenly had another body in it.  
            "David?" I said, touching his shoulder. I'd recognize that blond hair anywhere. "David!"

            "Who're you? Where am I?" he looked around wildly.

            "David, it's me, it's Angel, babe," I said. He didn't recognize me because of my weight difference.

            "Angel? SISSY!" He leapt up on my neck and hugged me to choking point. "I missed you so much, what happened, where are we, who's that?"

            "Lemme answer, kiddo," I laughed, setting him down. "I missed you, too. I guess because I wished you here, you're dreaming with us, too. You're in what's called a solid precognition dream, and it's controlled by us."

            "Oh, okay," he nodded. "Who's that?"

            This kid has listened to, watched, and done so many weird things, that a weird thing actually happening to him leaves him unfazed. Good grief. I wish I could be like that.

            "This is Syaoran Li. He's been helping me lose weight while we're asleep."

            "Oh…cool! Hi, I'm David."  
            "Hello."

            "Huh? Angel, he's talking funny," David said.

            "Angel? I think the Japanese-English understanding that we have doesn't pertain to your brother," said Syaoran. "I can only just understand him, and that's because I'm taking English at school."

            "Oh…" I said, looking at David, who looked really clueless. "David, Syaoran speaks Japanese."  
            "Then how come you can understand him, Sissy?"

            "Some kind of magic is connecting our brains or something," I said. "A really powerful magician wanted us to meet. Something like that. I dunno."

            "Oh, okay. I'm glad I got to see you, Angel, but I'd really like to go back and help Zidane fight the Supreme Chicken Overlords," David said.

            "Supreme…Chicken…Overlords???" I muttered. "Okay, uh…Syaoran, how do we wish him back?" As soon as "back" came out of my lips, David was gone.

            "I think you just did. This is a strange, strange dream."

            "You can say that again."

            "Angel, wake up. Dumbledore is coming today!" Ginny shouted.

            "Dumbledore? She doesn't mean Albus Dumbledore, does she?" Syaoran asked.

            "Yeah. I don't know much about him, only that he's the headmaster of my school," I said. "And he helped me get the foreign exchange go ahead."

            "Tell me about it tonight. You need to wake up."

            "Angel!"

            "See ya tonight, Syaoran."

            Ginny's face came into focus.

            "Come on, Dumbledore's coming in half an hour, get dressed! Mom's got breakfast all ready for us."

            I rolled out of bed and glanced at the clock. Eight again. Usually I wake up at six, like normal. I wonder what's going on?

            I pulled on a pair of jeans and a blue T-shirt. I kept my shoes off most of the time; I loved going barefoot. Up went my hair again, in a normal ponytail. It wasn't as hot in England as it was in Kansas, so I left it as is.

            "Now, dear, I want you to look your best for Professor Dumbledore," Molly was saying as I walked into the kitchen. She was smoothing out Ron's hair, and brushing Ginny's. Ginny had gotten used to wearing hers in a ponytail, like mine (I dunno why), but Molly wanted her to keep it down for some reason.

            "How come you want us to look so nice for him, Mom?" Ginny asked. "I know he's a really cool guy and all, but still. Won't he accept us the way we are?"

            "Good first impressions are the most lasting," said Molly.  
            "Actually, it's a bad impression that lasts longer," I smiled. "Don't worry, I'm sure he won't mind."

            "And she's…absolutely correct, Molly," said a voice. It was raspy, but warm. Like…I dunno, like Stevie Wonder. A good bass singing voice, that is.

            "Albus, come on in!" Molly said brightly. The voice was attached to an elderly man with the youngest, wisest blue eyes I've ever seen. He reminded me instantly of David. He had a pair of half-moon glasses, which rested elegantly across the bridge of a crooked nose. It looked like he had gotten into many fights many times. His white hair and beard nearly touched the ground. I instantly liked him.

            "Hello, Weasleys," he said. "Well, you must be Angel Indigo, am I correct? However, I was informed that you were rather overweight. And I was certain you would still be, with Molly's wonderful cooking to eat."

            "I've been playing lots of Quidditch," I said quickly. My face burned in embarrassment.

            "I don't understand it, either, Albus," Molly grinned. "She eats almost as much as Arthur, yet she's losing all her weight."

            "A good achievement, well done, Angel," Dumbledore nodded. "Your cousin will be most jealous." His eyes twinkled. He looked so much like David; it was uncanny. "You know of your predicament, am I correct?"

            "If I don't get good grades, the Ministry will cancel the program," I said. "No worries from me. I've always been a good student."

            "As I've noticed. Straight 'A's in Muggle school, with all of your volunteer work and your hobbies," he smiled. "You'll do well, I've no doubt. In fact, we've chosen you to lead the expedition to Japan. You, along with a team of seven students and our new teacher, will be finding candidates for the foreign exchange program during the Christmas break."

            "Cool. I'm getting a lot of nice surprises, aren't I?" I smiled. "Thank you, sir."

            "Very good. The teacher who will be taking you is Professor Hiiragizawa. He's from England, but his mother is from Japan. He is only twenty years old, so he's fairly young," Dumbledore smiled back.

            "That's cool. So he'll kind of be informed on a lot of different levels—Sakura!" Sakura had just flown into the room, bearing a note.

            _Send Sakura back when you leave for train. She will bring our answers then._

            "It appears your parents are keeping well in touch," Dumbledore chuckled. 

            "Yes, but I don't think Sakura quite knows what manners are," I laughed. "Sakura was a gift from my parents. They bought her in America and sent over the first letter with her."

            "She's had several transatlantic flights, then," Dumbledore laughed. "A strong owl for a strong witch. A good combination."

            "I'm not that strong," I blushed. 

            "On the contrary, you come from a line of very powerful wizards, Angel," Dumbledore said. "I expect great things from you."

            An expectation like that really isn't good for a girl.

            "At the Opening Feast, I will introduce you to the school. I want you to have one student chosen from each house by Christmas holidays. I would like to know whether or not you want me to tell the students?"

            "No, I don't think so," I said, smiling. "I'd like to choose them without having them swarming all over me. I know what it's like to have dozens of other people screaming 'pick me, pick me, pick me'."

            "A good choice, and even better explanation," Dumbledore nodded. "It's always best to give a reason for things. Otherwise curiosity fuels the cat. Of course, wouldn't that set the cat on fire? Hmm…I never did understand that analogy. Then again, curiosity killed the cat, so maybe it was the fire that killed the cat…" By this time, I was rolling on the floor in laughter. Dumbledore smiled as I calmed down.

            "Now I trust you," I said.

            "Why didn't you trust me before?" Dumbledore asked. 

            "Never trust a schoolteacher who can't have fun while using the things that they teach," I said. 

            "Well, I must be going," Dumbledore stood up. "Is there anything about you that you'd like the school to know?"

            "I am not my namesake," I said promptly. Dumbledore chuckled and nodded.

***

            "You're coming to Japan during Christmas?" Syaoran asked. 

            "Yeah. I'm coming with a team of nine, myself included. We're looking for magic potential," I said. "Maybe I'll see you and Sakura."  
            "You _will_ see us," Syaoran said. "I saw seven others, but they fell asleep."     

            "What? I've never seen seven others, wearing robes like the ones I wore that first night," I said. "What did they look like?"

            "I can't be certain, but three wore red crests with a lion, two wore green crests with a snake, one wore a yellow crest with a badger on it, and one wore a blue crest with a raven."

            "All from the four houses," I said. "What color crest did I have?"

            "It was blurred. I never caught what it was. Why, what's so important?"

            "I just thought for a second that I might know what my House is before I go to Hogwarts," I shrugged. "Eh, figures. Well, either I'll be in Griffindor or Slytherin. Slytherin, most likely, my bloodline leads back closest to it. Of course, I've got the sort of Weasley rub-off, so maybe I'll end up in Griffindor. I'd like that."  
            "What about the ninth person?" Syaoran asked. "I didn't see him."

            "Or her," I pointed out. "That's going to be the teacher. He's only twenty and he's new. His name's Hiragana or something like that. He was born in England, but his mom's Japanese."

            "Good. So, what say we go back to the original dream? Maybe we'll get somewhere."

            "Okay," I nodded. And we were back, in the darkness, and screaming all around.

            Sakura was falling again. 

            "WIND SUMMONS!" 

            And another Syaoran was catching her in a pillow of wind. Another me was running around, helping Tomoyo and the teenage boy who had fallen.

            "What…what's going on? Why are we…"

            "It's the purpose of a solid precognitive dream," Syaoran said. "We're able to see ourselves outside or inside our bodies. Since we wandered into the Zero Zone, we are outside our bodies."

            "Gee, thanks for warning me."

            "Syaoran!"

            Syaoran looked like he was going to faint.

            "Tut tut…it's reckless to use magic…in such a state," said Eriol. 

            "SYAORAN!"

            "If you want to save him and the others…you must break my spell…"

            "He's lying," I murmured. "I can see it in his eyes."

            "What?" Syaoran said.

            "Clow Reed…Eriol…whatever his name is, he's lying," I said. "I think there's something up here, something more than just an attack on Sakura."

            "Both entities of Clow Reed have always helped Sakura before," Syaoran said. "It is sort of strange that he will be attacking us."

            "SAKURA!"

            "But what is he lying about?"

            "STAND ASIDE!"

            "I don't know, Angel."

            "Are you all right?!"

            Sakura nodded and held the nineteen Clow Cards in her hands. She stared at them.

            "How is she changing those cards?"

            "She's using the magic of her Star," Syaoran answered, smiling. "Her own brand of magic. They used to be Clow Cards. Now they are Sakura Cards."  
            "They have the power of Sakura in them," I nodded to myself. "She's gotta change those other two cards. That's what he wants."

            "He wants her to change the Clow Cards? Why?"

            "Like I know? I just know he wants her to change them."

            A bright light interrupted me. I looked back, and Cerberus and Yue were gone. Sakura was changing the cards, but having difficulties doing it. Syaoran wrapped his arms around her and held the staff, too.

            "Aw…that's so sweet!" I smiled. "You ought to do that all the time, Syaoran. She looks like she likes it."

            "LIGHT!" 

            The light blinded me for a second. And then everything went dark again. 

            "Syaoran? Syaoran!"

            "I'm here," he said. The blank white space was back again. "Someone doesn't want us to see past this point."

            "You're right," I nodded. "Who?"

            "It may be Clow Reed."

            "It may also be Dumbledore."

            "Why do you say that?" 

            "Dumbledore is strong," I said. "Really strong. He could…take over the world, if he wanted to."

            "He's strong in _Western_ magic," Syaoran corrected. "If he went up against Clow Reed, or even Sakura, he'd be powerless. Eastern magic and Western magic doesn't mix well, but when it does, it's very powerful."

            "Could you teach me?"

            "Eastern magic? I could, but I won't," he said. "You'll have enough to do with all you're doing right now."

            "True. You're definitely on my list for foreign exchange, Syaoran," I grinned. "You and Sakura. She's still got some learning to do."

            "You can say that again."

            "Angel! Angel, come on, we're going to Diagon Alley! You need to get the rest of your supplies!"

            "Bye." I waved. Ginny's face came steadily into focus.

***

Grr….still not done!


	4. Diagon Alley

            Finally, we get to go on the train. I'll end my update here.

Quote of the Update: "Harry wished he had about eight more eyes." –_The Sorcerer's Stone_.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Sakura. This message will shoot paintballs in five seconds. Five…four…three…Operation terminated.

Jaded Angels and Silken Blossoms 

Chapter 4: _Diagon Alley and Platform 9 ¾_

***

            "Wow…so this is Diagon Alley."  
            Diagon Alley was much more than just an alley. It was a place for congregation, shopping, and fun. Well, mostly shopping. We stopped by a robes shop and I got my school robes fitted and made. I got my cauldron and everything else. I got my inks and quills and parchment, and all my other supplies. 

            Now all I needed was a wand.

            Ollivander's Wand Shop was a small, quaint little shop filled to the breaking point with—you guessed it—wands. Mr. Ollivander himself was an elder man with a strange aura about him. He looked and felt weird. But, he was wise beyond my reason.

            "You're Angel Indigo," he smiled. "The first American to buy a wand from my shop, you are."

            He measured my wand arm and started handing me wands. I waved them around, causing havoc and destruction all over the store, until at last, we found the wand.

            "A special wand, this one," Ollivander said, smiling. "Made of cherry tree wood. 12 inches. Phoenix feather core, this is a very special wand. It usually goes to our oriental population, that kind."

            Cherry tree wood, exactly a foot long, with a phoenix feather center? This was getting creepy, people. Very creepy.

            "Wow, cool wand, Angel," Ron said. "Not many people get a cherry tree wand."

            "Yeah, I know," I smiled. "Wanna go to the bookstore?"

            "Uh…"  
            "We have to, Ron," said Ginny. "We've still got to get your books, remember?"

            "Oh, yeah."

            While Ron was getting his books, I was glancing around the other sections. I still had a full pocket of wizard gold in my pocket. My pockets are usually pretty blank, so a full pocket was a good thing for me.

            "Hey, Angel, look at this," Ginny said, holding up a book. "It's a cookbook."

            "Hey, isn't Molly's birthday coming up?" I asked. (AN-We don't know when Molly Weasley's birthday is, so I'm going to say that it's August 25.)

            "Yeah! I've got some spending money, we can pool together to buy it," Ginny said, grinning. "Mom would like this one. It's for stuff from around the world."           

            "Like what?" 

            "Well…there's sweets, like German chocolate cake…and fudge…and sakura mochi…wow, that sounds good!"

            "Sakura mochi?"

            "It's a sweet rice cake with ground cherry blossom petals," Ginny said. 

            "How much is it?"

            "Two galleons. I've got three…"

            "Okay, we'll get it. Don't show it to your mom, come on," I glanced around. "Let's go."

            "Excuse me?" Ginny said to the guy at the desk. "We'd like to buy this, please."

            "Of course. That'll be two Galleons."

            Ginny handed him one and I handed him the other. 

            "Can you double-bag it?" I asked. "It's a birthday present."

            "Cool, for your mom?"

            "Hers," I said. "I'm just staying with them."  
            "Oh, that's nice of you," said the guy. "I hope she likes it, this is one of our most popular cookbooks."

            "I think she will," Ginny said. "She loves to cook."

            "I bet you want some of that American fudge in here," said the guy. "My girlfriend made me some. It's delicious, really. And she made it _by hand_. Without a speck of magic."

            "Your girlfriend must be really nice," I said. "What's her name?"

            "Sakura."

            That did it for me. Those were too many coincidences in one day. Something was up with Sakura, and someone wanted me in Japan during Christmas. And I was going to be there.

            "Hey, do you have any books that you would suggest, sir?" I asked. 

            "Hmm...I would suggest _Hogwarts, A History_. Even if you don't go there."

            "I'm going there, so I guess I'd better read it," I smiled. "How much?"

            "A Galleon."

            "Sold, sir."

***

            August 25, Ginny woke me up with perseverance unlike any other day before. Molly's birthday had arrived and Ginny, Ron, and I had planned a huge dinner for her. We got Charlie and Bill to take her out, while Ginny, Ron, Fred, George, and I fixed up the house (which was a war unto itself), made dinner, and placed her pile of presents from each of us on the table.

            Boy, was she ever surprised when she came home to a clean house, a big dinner of her favorite things (which included my spaghetti, I might add), and a pile of presents just for her.

            "Oh, you…you're so wonderful!" Molly shouted. "Who did all this?"

            "Well…it started out just Angel and me," Ginny said. "But then we got Ron in on it, then, well…Angel sent Sakura after Charlie and Bill and…it fell together."

            "Oh…you three, come here!" Molly hugged Ron, Ginny, and me all at once. We were all blushing by the end of it.

            "Open your presents, Mum!" Fred said.

            "They're all good."

            "Even the one from us."

            "Which one first?" Molly looked at all the presents. 

            "Ours last, Molly," I said. 

            She just dove into the presents and came back up for air with all sorts of different things she loves. Including a new knitting set, a stress relieving spell book, a booklet of coupons to get the twins to do several different things (guess who), and a box of her favorite chocolates.

            When she finally got to our gift, Ginny and I exchanged a quick, hopeful grin. Molly opened the book and yelled with joy.

            "I saw this in the bookstore, how did you girls know I wanted it?" she grinned, speechless.

            "We know how much you love to cook, Molly," I said.

            "Yeah, Mom."

            "Look, we made you spaghetti, too."

            "I showed Ginny how to make it, so she'll be able to make it for you from now on, too," I said, grinning.

            "Thank you, girls. So much. You don't know how much this means to me," Molly smiled around again.

            As we dug in to dinner, I thought of how much I was going to stress to Syaoran of this. He was disbelieving in how effective it was going to be. Boy, was he going to be surprised.

***

            The last six days passed without a hitch. I started packing my trunk on the twenty-eighth and finished up on the thirty-first with some Muggle clothes for the relaxing hours of the weekends.

            "You're leaving tomorrow," Ginny said. "Mom, Dad, and me will be the only ones in the house. I still have regular school until next year."  
            "Yup. Aren't you glad? I mean, you'll get to have the house all to yourself. I know most girls in your shoes would be glad to get rid of her brothers," I smiled. "Actually, I wouldn't know much about it."  
            "Why's that?"

            "I don't really know that many people," I said. "I usually don't trust them. I've got a sense for character in other people. I didn't really have that many friends in Kansas. They all thought I was weird."

            "So…those four girls…?"

            "They moved away when we were eight," I shrugged. "I never saw them again."

            "Oh…"  
            "That's how all of my friends were. I knew them for a short time, and then they move away," I shrugged. "And I never see them again. But this time's different. Now I've got Sakura. I can send her out to find people in the magical world."

            "And you've got me," said Ginny. "If you send Sakura out once a week, I'll send a letter back. You've got a friend in me."

            "That's a song," I smiled. "A Friend in Me. Cool. I promise."      

            "Cool."

***

            The next morning was a rush to get out of the house. Unfortunately, Ron, Fred, and George did not have the same insight I did to pack early. They were rushing about, looking for socks and underwear. Lucky enough they'd had the sense to put their books, robes, and wands in their trunks when we bought them.

            "Are you sure you haven't seen me slipper?" Ron shouted down from the attic bedroom.

            "No, Ron!" Molly called for the thousandth time.

            "Is it always like this?" I asked Arthur and Ginny, who were seated calmly as we ate our breakfast.

            "Yeah," Ginny nodded.

            "It's been like this since Bill was a first year," Arthur said.

            "That's a long time," I said. Trying to ignore the hustle and bustle, I ate my breakfast of sausage and biscuits and orange juice. I didn't touch the milk or eggs. I don't like eggs, and I'm semi-allergic to milk.

            "So how are we getting there?" I asked.

            "Ministry Taxis," Arthur answered. There was a loud chorus of honking. "Speak of the devil. That's them. Molly, the taxis are here!"

            "Oh, fine. Ron's still looking for his toothbrush and Fred and George are looking for who knows what!"

            "Percy and I are already packed," I said. "We'll put our things in the taxis, then go help them. You going to help, too, Gin?"

            "Sure."

            "Right, then, I might as well help, too," Arthur said. "I'll put the trunks in, you go help those gents."

            "All right, Arthur," I nodded. "Don't forget Sakura's cage. I gave her a message to take to little Dee and told her I'd be at Hogwarts. Think she'll get there all right?"

            "I'm sure she will," Molly said as we all ran up the stairs. "She's a smart owl, that one."

            "Ginny and I'll help Ron, you guys help Fred and George," I said. "Come on, Gin."

            "Off to rescue my brother," she rolled her eyes and grinned.

            In my stay at the Weasley house, I had never gotten to see Ron's attic room. He was a little messy, he always said, and he didn't want "girls mucking it up." You know, being a typical boy.

            When we got up there, I could see why.

            "It's a wonder you can find anything in this mess," I muttered. I couldn't even see Ron in the sea of orange. You could tell the boy loved Quidditch. And the Cannons.

            "Ron!" Ginny shouted. "We're here to help. Where are you?"

            "I'm right here," he emerged from the closet, carrying several pairs of jeans and T-shirts. "I need help. I can't fit it all."

            "It's no wonder," I said. "Come on, Ginny. We'll sort this mess out."

            I started piling things up neatly. Ginny followed my lead, and Ron decided to find the rest of what he needed to be put in the trunk.

            "Okay, Ron, you'll need another shirt and your toothbrush. That's all," I said. I piled his schoolbooks and his other clothes in neatly, settling his robes on top. The essentials went in a compartment that Ron didn't seem to even know about, because he was gaping at it so much. The rest of his things went in rather smoothly and we were carrying his well-balanced and organized trunk down the stairs, Scabbers the rat tucked neatly in his inside pocket.

            "Thank goodness you got him sorted out," Molly said. "I'm shocked, it only took you ten minutes." 

            "Some good organization was all he needed, that and some familiarity with his own trunk," I chuckled. "There's a compartment on it that he didn't even know was there. Imagine that." 

            "Yes, I agree," Molly nodded. "We're all set. Let's go."

***

            We arrived at the station about fifteen minutes before the train was set to go. It wasn't my best time, but it wasn't the worst, either. I wish I could tell Syaoran how exciting this all was. 

            "Okay, Percy, you first. Show Angel how it's done," Molly pointed to the platform barrier. "Here's your ticket, Angel, I almost forgot."

            Platform 9 ¾ 

            Okay. I'm officially freaked. I looked up in time to see Percy disappear. Fred and George did the same, followed by Ron.

            "Excuse me." A boy with messy black hair appeared. (AN-Duh...I wonder who dat is…) 

            "Yes, dear?" Molly asked.

            "How do you…do you…get…um…"  
            "On the platform?" He nodded. "Well, you go straight at the wall, and don't stop. Better do it at a bit of a run, if you're scared. Ron, why don't you show him. I think Angel missed it a few times, too. This is Ron, my son, and Angel, our foreign exchange student. This is their first time at Hogwarts, too."

            "Hi," I said. I watched Ron carefully as he ran through. "Why don't you go first?"

            "Okay…thanks," he said. "Angel, wasn't it?" I nodded, but he was already running toward the wall.

            "Angel, you're turn, dear."

            I ran toward the wall and prepared for impact, but it never came. I ran out of the wall and into a platform clearly labeled _Platform 9 ¾._

            "Bye, Molly, bye, Ginny!" I shouted. I climbed aboard the Hogwarts Express, lugging my trunk along the hallways. I was lucky it had wheels. As I checked each compartment through the foggy windows, I saw many shapes. I was looking for an empty compartment, or at least one with only one person. I found one at the end of the train, with the least number of people occupying it. Inside was the same boy from before and Ron.

            "Hello, boys," I smiled. "Mind if I sit here, too?"

            "Not at all," the boy shook his head. 

            I heaved my trunk into a corner and sat down next to the boy.

            "I'm Angel Indigo, sorry about all the confusion," I smiled, holding out my hand. "I'm from America."

            "Harry Potter," he said.

            "Harry Potter?" Ron's eyes went wide. "You're really him? Do you really have the…the…"  
            "The what?" Harry said.

            "The _scar_?" Ron whispered. 

            "Oh, this?" Harry lifted his bangs and revealed an etched lightning bolt- shaped scar. 

            "Where'd you get that?" I asked.

            "Angel, have you any brains at all?" Ron asked. "That's Harry Potter, the one who defeated You-Know-Who!"

            "Voldemort?" Harry said.

            "Don't say his name!" Ron protested.

            "Who's Voldemort?" I asked, ignoring Ron.

            "I dunno any more than you do, really," Harry said. "All I know is that he killed my parents and then went after me."

            "And he survived with nothing more than a simple scar!" Ron proclaimed quietly. "He's legend, Angel, _legend_! I can't believe Ginny never told you. Or Malfoy, for that matter."

            "I've only known Draco for three weeks of my life, Ron," I said. "He stayed two weeks when we were one year old, then a week before I came to you guys. And he's always so mysterious, it's no wonder not many people like him."

            "It's true, then," said the smooth voice of my cousin. "What they're saying further up. Harry Potter's going to Hogwarts."

            "Hey, Draco, what's up?" I said, grinning. "Who're your friends?"

            "Angel, didn't expect to see you back here, hanging around with Weasley and Potter," Draco said, and his eyes were so cold they froze me where I was. "I'd think you'd know better after staying with them for two months, Angel, that the Weasleys are bad news. Redeem yourself. Come on, then. You'd do well to not hang around those who stain the name of wizard."          

            "Who are you and what have you done with my cousin?" I asked. "You're not Draco. You can't be. He'd never say such mean things."

            "I don't think you really got to know me very well, Angel," Draco said. "What with your parents breathing down my father's neck about being nice to you."

            "It was all…just an act?" I murmured.

            "Please," Draco said. "Do you really think that I, or even Crabbe and Goyle here, would ever hang out with a mudblood like you? The half-breed daughter of a Squib and a Muggle?"

            His words stung worse than a thousand bee stings.

            "You take that back, you—" Ron said a few choice words that would definitely make Molly faint. "How dare you, she's your _cousin_."

            "So are you, backstabber," Draco growled. "What? You gonna fight us? Go ahead and try."  
            "Why you—"  
            "No, Ron," I said. "Leave it alone. I know one thing, Draco Malfoy. You've just made an enemy of someone you won't soon forget. Now get out before I call the Head Boy."

            "Ooh, the Head Boy, I'm so scared," Draco said, his voice dripping in sarcasm. "What are you gonna do, Angel? You're a perfect little Angel, there's no way you could hurt me, even after you went through all that trouble to lose the weight that made you so ugly. Now that I can see your eyes without those piggy cheeks, it makes you even more displeasing to the eye."

            "Get out."

            "What?" Draco laughed. "You gonna hex me?"

            "No. Something a little more painful," I said, smiling sweetly. And I kicked him where the sun don't shine. Crabbe and Goyle lifted their friend an walked out, him hunched over in pain. "I hope he can still have children after that."

            "Unfortunately," said a girl as she entered the compartment. "Are you all right?"

            "Yeah," I smiled. "Hey, Ron, I didn't know you knew those words."

            "It's worth it, that stupid little—"

            "What was that word he called me, though?" I asked. "Mudblood."  
            "It means dirty blood. The Malfoys think they're better than everybody else cause they don't have any Muggle blood in them."

            "Oh. Draco was really starting to fool me," I said. "He really was. Alls I know is he is definitely not the one I'm taking from Slytherin House."

            "Taking?" asked Harry.

            "Yeah," the girl sat down in the seat. "Haven't you heard yet? She's Angel Indigo, the foreign exchange student. I'm Hermione, by the way. Hermione Granger."

            "Pleasure to meet you, Hermione," I said. "How'd you know I was the exchange student?"

            "I overheard it from the Prefect cars," she said. "The Griffindor House Prefect has a very loud voice."

            "That's Percy," Ron said. "He's been gloating about it all summer."

            "Really? I haven't noticed," I said. 

            "He's jealous," Ron explained. "You're making history, Angel. You're the first ever magical foreign exchange student. And you get to go and choose the next few from Japan."

            "Choose the next few? I didn't hear anything about that," Hermione said. 

            "Well, please, keep it between us, all right?" I asked. "I'm going to Japan with this new teacher, Hiragana or something like that. I have to choose seven people, at least one from each House, to go with us. Please keep it under wraps. I don't want people begging me to pick them until Christmas."

            "It's a secret well kept," said Hermione.

            "Between friends," Harry said.

            "Between us," Ron said, grinning.

***

            The rest of the ride was uneventful, with the exception of the arrival of the food cart. There were so many different kinds of wizard candy to try. My favorite was Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans. They _do_ mean every flavor. I swear I had a silver flavored one.

            We arrived at the train station in Hogsmeade and were greeted by a huge man with curly black hair and a beard. He was gigantic. Ron was stupefied by his height, while Hermione and I simply stared.

            "Hello, Hagrid," said Harry. He looked at him as a friend. 

            "Hello, Harry. You found some friends, I wager?"

            "Yeah."

            "Introduce me later, then," Hagrid said. "We've got to get to the boats. _Firs' years!_ Over this way, everyone." 

            We followed the huge man through a patch of woods and arrived at a port with several rowboats. There weren't any oars. How were we going to get across? We were across a lake without a paddle.

            "No more than three to a boat!" Hagrid shouted. Harry, Ron, and I shared a boat, while Hermione climbed in with a chubby boy who reminded me of my decreased bulk.

            "FORWARD!" Hagrid bellowed and the boats pulled forward on their own.

            "Cool!" I shouted. "So, Harry. You seem to know Hagrid pretty well."

            "Yeah. He came and rescued me from my aunt and uncle," Harry grinned. "He's really cool. You'll like him a lot, once you get to know him."

            "A gentle giant, am I right?"

            "Yeah."

            "Cool."

***

            And that's a wrap! We're on the lake, headed for the Sorting. Will Angel follow her Uncle's footsteps into Slytherin, or will she become a fluke? And who is this mysterious teacher? Why has he come to Hogwarts? Why does he have the same last name as Eriol Hiiragizawa? Find out!


	5. The Sorting

I'd like to personally thank my very first reviewer for this story. I've been sort of desperate for reviews, so I was really happy when I received that "FanFiction Review Alert" in my Inbox. Special thanks to Darknesswithinonesheart, and thank you very much for your compliments. We'll get into the crossover stuff soon, so don't fret. Things will get much more interesting for here on out! ^_^

Disclaimer: I don't own 'em. Don't rub salt on the wound! (Though I am working on a novel, with which I hope to be very popular. Hope! It's a dream!)

Quote of the Chapter:  "I'll eat myself if you can find a smarter hat than me!" –The Sorting Hat, _Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone_

Jaded Angels and Silken Blossoms 

Chapter 5: The Sorting

***

            An aging woman, Professor McGonagall, who wore her hair in a tight bun, greeted us. She explained the Houses to us and led us into the Great Hall. Whatever anybody ever says, the book never explained the Great Hall to its full glory and splendor. The floating candles, the ceiling's night sky, perfectly viewing the stars above, and the four long, long tables. Don't forget the High Table, either, where all the other teachers were seated. I spotted the new Asian teacher immediately. The one I would be going to Japan with.

            "The Sorting will begin now," Professor McGonagall. The Hat sang a song. It was tattered and extremely old. It sat on a three-legged stool and stared at all the first years, even though it didn't seem to have any eyes at all.

            "Abbot, Hannah!" And on down the list.

            "Granger, Hermione!" Hermione made her way up to the stool and sat down, looking like she was going to faint.

            "GRIFFINDOR!"

            "Indigo, Angel!"

            Uh oh. I'm in trouble. Slowly, my legs crept up to the three-legged stool and very suddenly, the Hat was over my eyes and I was seated in the chair.

            "Hmm…intelligent, brave…oh…you're a special one, aren't you?" said the Hat. "Very good, very good, solid precognitive dreams…Oh, my. What a fantastic background, unheard of! Where to put you? Hmm…I wouldn't want you fighting with your cousin, now do I? I get the rap for anything that goes crazy out there. Hmm…GRIFFINDOR!"

            Very suddenly, cheers unknown to me greeted me. I made my way to the Griffindor table, decorated in red with a golden lion.

            "Congratulations, Angel!" Fred and George shouted. "Welcome to Griffindor."

            "Thanks, guys."

            I watched the rest of the Sorting finish up. Ron, Harry, and that chubby boy were also placed in Griffindor. Draco and his goons were all three placed in Slytherin. What a surprise.    

            Then Dumbledore stood up.

            My heart pounded in my ears and my throat went dry. I wished the goblet in front of me would magically be filled with ice water. Was it now? Was he really going to say what I thought he was going to?

            "Welcome!" he shouted, and the whole room cheered. "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! Before we being our banquet, I'd like to say a few words."

            Oh, no…

            "And here the are! Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!" And he sat down. 

            I let out a breath I hadn't known I was holding. He was going to let us eat first. Was he going to keep doing that? 

            "What's wrong?" asked several of the other kids. 

            "Yeah, the worst part's over," said the chubby boy.

            "Nah, it's just the beginning for me," I said. "It's only the beginning."

            "Well, you might as well greet it head on, Ang," George said. "You're a Griffindor!"

            "That's right, Angel," Fred grinned. "Not like us. Eat something, food always makes the butterflies feel better."    

            In my absence of mind, the food platters before us had been filled. All of them were exotic foods that I was amazed to see them at all. Molly hadn't been very good at introducing me to some of the foods that Hogwarts traditionally serves. The only thing I recognized were the sausages and the platters of beef stew. I went for that first.

            "You'd think she hadn't eaten in years," Fred said.

            "Well, if you looked at her from since we knew her, you would," George added. "How'd you do it, Angel? I mean, it's hard for us to stay lean, too, around Mum's cooking."

            "Well…" I said. I couldn't tell them I was being trained to fight by a boy in my dreams, who lives halfway around the world! "I have a really high metabolism rate. Back home, I didn't exercise almost at all. I guess the Quidditch matches with you guys helped me along. Plus, I didn't have access to soda, chips, and other fattening foods. Your mum fed me fruits and veggies with everything, and gave me the energy I needed."  
            "Wicked awesome, I say," said the chubby boy. "I'm Neville. I have a really slow metabolism rate, so I can't really lose mine as easily."

            "Sure you can," I said. "You just need to eat better and exercise a little more. Like right now. What do you think you're doing wrong already?"

            He glanced down at his food platter. It was filled to the breaking point with all sorts of red meats, and he hadn't any vegetables or fruits to start with.    

            "Too much red meat can kill the remainder of your appetite," I said. "That's why most high-class restaurants start you out with a salad, then move to the main course. That way, you get your veggies in first."

            "She's smart," Fred said. 

            "Smarter than us, anyway," George added.

            "Really?" Hermione asked. "Well, there was one thing you left out. What about fruits?"

            "Yeah, I know," I said. "I was getting to that. Fruits are the best snack, cause they taste great and give you a bunch of energy that was locked in the carbohydrates in your diet. Plus, don't forget your milk and dairy and the meats. I didn't say to completely forget meat, but do try to tone it down a bit."

            "Wow, thanks," Neville said. "I'll try it. Nothing to lose but pounds."

            "Yup, yup!" I winked and giggled.

            When everyone had eaten their fill of the feast, the table became a paradise of treats and sweets.

            "Sugar always helps calm me down," I said and grabbed a tiny half-serving of each dessert within my reach. It covered half my dessert plate, which was quite enough for me. "A little of everything and I get to decide which one I like best."

            "Hey, I'm trying what she is," said Fred.

            "Me, too."

            Suddenly, the whole half end of the table had taken a little of everything, leaving very little on the serving plates. Each dish was absolutely amazing, but the one I liked best was the sakura mochi. Yes, they had it, and I was quite sure that it had been made especially for the new professor.

            Talk turned to families.

            "Me dad's a Muggle and me mum's a witch," said Seamus Finnigan. "Mum didn't tell him she was a witch until after they married. Bit of a nasty shock when he found out." We all laughed.

            "What about you, Neville?" Ron asked. Which was a mistake.

            "Well, me gram brought me up and she's witch," Neville said. "But the family thought I was all-Muggle for ages. My Great Uncle—" and on he went.

            I didn't pay much attention after that point, I was getting more worried about what was going to happen when Dumbledore stood again.

            "Hey, Angel, what about you?" asked Seamus. "You must be from an all-wizard family, right?"

            "Actually," I said, blushing. "I'm kind of Muggle and kind of not."

            "What do you mean, 'kind of'?" Hermione asked. "I'm all Muggle, I'm fairly sure it's impossible to be 'kind of' Muggle."

            "Well…yes and no," I said. "Okay, here it is. My mom's all Muggle, which I'm sure of. But my dad is a Squib. I think he kind of denounced his maiden name, though."

            "That's fairly odd, for a guy to denounce his own last name. Who's brother is he?" asked Seamus.

            "You guys'll freak," I said, shaking my head. "You really will."

            "Oh, come on and tell them, Angel," Fred said.

            "Yeah, it's not that bad."

            "Never judge a girl by who she's related to and all."

            "Yeah, Angel, it doesn't really matter to us," Seamus said. 

            "Okay, okay," I rolled my eyes and muttered. "Lucius Malfoy."

            "Who?"

            "Lucius Malfoy."

            About half the table fell off their benches, laughing their heads off. No one screamed "your Uncle is Lucius Malfoy!" and I'm glad they didn't. McGonagall came down and helped a few back up into the seats and stared at me for a moment. I don't know if she knew it was me or not that caused the whole commotion.

            "Ouch!" Harry suddenly grabbed his head, staring up at the High Table.

            "What's wrong, Harry?" I asked. 

            "Nothing. It's nothing," he said.

            I knew it was something, but if he didn't want to tell me, so be it. He'd tell Ron sooner or later. Those two were the best of friends already. I think Hermione was trying to be my rival, though.      

            Finally, the desserts disappeared, but the goblets of water remained, thank goodness. I don't think I could stand having my throat dry when I walked up to go to bed.

            "Ahem," said Professor Dumbledore. He was standing. The room fell silent. "I just have a few start-of-term notices now that we are all fed and watered. Afterwards, I will make two very special introductions." 

            His eyes twinkled straight into mine.

            "First years should note that the forest on the grounds is strictly forbidden. A few of our older students would do well the recall that as well." 

            He looked at Fred, George, and their friend, Lee Jordan.

            "I have been asked to remind you, by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, that no magic should be used in the corridors between class times.

            "Quidditch trials will be held two weeks into term. Those interested in playing on their House teams should contact Madam Hooch as soon as possible.

            "And finally I must tell you that the third floor corridor on the right hand side is strictly forbidden. It is out of bounds to anyone who does not wish to have a painful death."

            He stared around the room, including at the teachers.

            "He's not serious?" Harry muttered.

            "Must be. Funny, though, he usually gives an explanation for things. The forest is full of deadly monsters, everyone knows that," said Percy. "I would think he'd tell us prefects, anyhow."

***FLASH***                

            "It's always best to give a reason for things. Otherwise curiosity fuels the cat. Of course, wouldn't that set the cat on fire? Hmm…I never did understand that analogy. Then again, curiosity killed the cat, so maybe it was the fire that killed the cat…"

***FLASH***

            That's weird. Was he trying to tell me something?

            "And now, I'd like to make my introductions," said Professor Dumbledore. "As you all probably know by now due to your wonderful attempt at secrecy, we have the very first foreign exchange student here tonight. Angel, please stand up."

            My stomach in knots, I smiled and stood. The entire room was watching me, and I felt like the butterflies in my stomach we eating away.

            "This is Angel Indigo, from Wichita, Kansas, United States of America. She will be staying with us all seven years, but I've asked her to do something quite special for me. She, along with our new professor, will be going to Japan in search of another foreign exchange student.

            "You may be seated, Angel." I sat down. "The older students probably saw him right away. This is our newest teacher, Professor Hiiragizawa. He has taken on a new class for third year students to take, Eastern Magic. I have especially chosen several first years to take the course as well, in its primary stages. This way, we get the feel for when it is best for students to begin this course.  
            "And now, it is time for bed. Off with you. Prefects, lead the way."

            "All Griffindor first years, follow me," said Percy. "Quickly, now." 

            There were only four girls in Griffindor: Parvati Patil, Lavender Brown, Hermione Granger, and Angel Indigo. Parvati and Lavender were instant friends, but Hermione and I didn't seem to really hit it off with anyone. Well, I did, but only in the boy's tower.

            In the boy's tower were Neville Longbottom, Seamus Finnigan, Dean Thomas (who I hadn't really gotten to know all that well), Harry Potter, and Ron Weasley. Our rooms were the same size, but I was glad that we didn't have a fifth four-poster bed in our room. We each had a huge quadrant of the room, which had a small fireplace and four wardrobes. There was also a bathroom with a nice shower inside it. It was fairly good-sized, too.

            I fell asleep, thinking how wonderful it was going to be to tell Syaoran all about it. The streets of Tomoeda appeared, as did Syaoran. We escaped the street for a blank white void, which promptly became the Griffindor First Year Girl's Tower.

            "What do you think?" I asked. "Awesome, huh?"

            "It's very nice," Syaoran nodded.

            "I made it into Griffindor. Dumbledore didn't make that big of a deal about me, not as much as I was worried about," I smiled. "It was cool."

            "So, did you get the chance to meet the teacher you'll be coming with?"

            "Well, no. But I saw him. He's pretty cool looking. He's going to be teaching a new course at school," I smiled. "Eastern magic. Cool, huh? I might be in the class. I think I will be, but I can't be sure until I get my class schedule tomorrow. So…what's been going on in Tomoeda?"

            "Nothing, which worries me worse than something," Syaoran said. "School started back up again. I'm worried about Eriol. I can't say anything about it to Sakura or him, because it wouldn't happen, then."

            "Don't worry about it. I'm sure things will be fine. At least now you know that the entire thing won't be totally life-threatening," I said. "Things will go smoothly. I'm sure of it."

            "Haven't people been asking about your weight?" Syaoran asked suddenly.

            "Well, yeah," I said. "I mean, how often does a girl lose that much weight in two months time?"

            "Exactly."

            "I just told them that I started eating and exercising better," I shrugged. "What was I going to tell them?"

            "Exactly."

            "Stop saying that," I said.

            "Okay," he shrugged. 

            "Come on, let's go for a swim," I said. The dormitory disappeared and was replaced by a long stretch of water. My robes were replaced with a blue swimsuit and I was off. "Race you!"

***

            "I got it!" I shouted the next morning. I had woken up, after a refreshing swim with Syaoran, at six o'clock and was dressed in a matter of minutes. I climbed out of the curtained bed to find my class schedule. On it was the Eastern magic course.

            "Good, now go back to bed," moaned Lavender. 

            "'S too early," Parvati added. 

            Paying them no heed, I pored over the classes for the day. Herbology was first, at nine o'clock, followed by History of Magic, and then lunch. Charms was last at one o'clock. Three classes, total. I think that they let you have it easy the first year, and then started hammering you as you grow in knowledge.

            Since I was going to have an hour lunchtime, I left my Charms book (_The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1_) in my room. _A History of Magic_ and _One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi_ went into my pack, along with several sheets of parchment, two inkwells, a few quills, and my wand.

            Six o'clock, and already there were several people in the Griffindor Common Room. I doubted it would be that way for long, but I smiled at everyone. There was plenty of time to dawdle, but I'm not one to, so I climbed out of the circular portrait hole. 

            "Good morning!" I chirped the Fat Lady, who's name I found to be Juniper. She was talking to another friend of hers, named Violet. (AN-If anyone knows the Fat Lady's real name, please tell me. I think I messed up somewhere.)

            "Good morning, early bird," said Juniper. "How are things?"  
            "Well, thank you," I bowed. "I must be off. Plenty to learn, and never enough time!"

            "Too true," Violet smiled.

            "--The sun is warm, the grass is green, the flowers are singing, and I'm sixteen--," I sang. I loved poetry, and I loved to sing. "—My Aunt Sally showed up last night with a bowl of pudding and a night bright light--She showed me how to play the fiddle and I showed her a diddle—

            "How do you do, Uncle Sue, Can you show me how to blow the horn? And I played till the dock of morn. Well, I gave myself a little tiny job, and I'll do it till the flowers don't bob—

            "—Hey, Aunt Kitty, can't you show me a pity, I wanna play till I cannot say the time of day—And she gave me a bongo and made me a tune and I'll play this song-oh till the bright of noon—"

            "What are you singing all about?" asked a voice. I turned around and saw Mr. Filch, the caretaker. "You can't be that happy."

            "Anyone can be happy, sir," I smiled. "I'm just glad to be here." He blinked, but said nothing more. "I'm going to go eat some breakfast. Have you had some yet?" He nodded slowly. "All right, then. See you later, sir. Bye!" 

            I continued on my way, unaware that I had just befuddled and surprised one of the most notorious men for grumpiness in the castle. All with a simple sunny disposition.

My brother, David (yes, he's my real brother, and yes, he's just as sweet), made up this song for his music class while watching the _Sorcerer's Stone_. He said that his inspiration was Filch, because the man never seemed to cheer up. So I used it, in hopes of making Filch seem baffled. Did it work? ^_^; Prolly not. Thanks for reading! Please review! I luv reviews! Thanks again to Darknesswithinonesheart!


	6. Eriol Hiiragizawa

            This is the second chapter of the upload.

Disclaimer: Don't own. Will own The Guiding.

Quote of the Chapter: "…somehow, I feel like we've met before…" --Sakura

Jaded Angels and Silken Blossoms 

Chapter 6: _Eriol Hiiragizawa_

***

            After eating breakfast, at a leisure unknown to most people, I took a walk through the castle. I wanted to get a good handle on the castle, and hoped that I wouldn't get lost in the process.

            Walking down a random corridor, I looked out the window. The sun was high in the sky, at this hour of eight o'clock, and very beautiful at that. In my unawareness, I hadn't watched where I was going, and, like the dumb blonde I was, ran into something. (AN-Mom says I'm a dumb blonde in disguise.)

            Or should I say, some_one_.

            "I'm sorry, I didn't see you!" said the boy. He climbed to his feet and reached down to help me up. 

            "No, no, it was my fault, I wasn't…" I looked up and found myself looking into a pair of blue orbs that I won't ever forget. "…watching where I was going. I'm sorry, have we met?"

            "No, probably not," he said, smiling. "This is my first time to England. You must be Angel. I'm Professor Hiiragizawa. Here." He offered his hand. I took it and stood up, then knelt back down to pick up my things. 

            "This is my first time here, too," I said. "Have you ever been to America?"

            "No," he smiled, picking up my books. "Maybe we do know each other."

            "Huh?"  
            "Before we were born," he said, smiling. "Magic people are usually quite keen on remembering people through rebirths."      

            "Maybe…" I murmured. "I was looking around, and I think I got turned around somewhere."

            "The corridors in this school are quite confusing, I agree," he smiled. "That's why I wake up early each morning to find my way around. It seems you had the same idea."

            "Yeah," I smiled. "You wouldn't happen to know what time it is, would you?"

            "Yes, it is half past eight," he said. "What's your first class? I'll show you the way."

            "Herbology," I said. 

            "Ah, the short lady," Hiiragizawa laughed. 

            "I think so," I said. "I'm still trying to sort my head out after last night. How you can stand to be in front of a class soon, I don't know, Professor Hiiragizawa."  
            "Please, formality provides barriers," he said. "Call me Eriol."

            "E-Eriol?" I stammered. That was the same name as the guy in my dream! The reincarnation of Clow Reed! But how…can he be here, twenty years old, and there, ten? 

            "Yes," he nodded. "Walk with me."

            It was strange, how he said that. He didn't say "follow me", as a teacher would normally say to a student. He said, "walk with me", like a friend. I guess that's what he wanted, really. A friend.

            It took fifteen minutes to find the door outside, where the other students were all gathering. Along in that time, Eriol and I talked about a lot of things. He reminded me of the Eriol in my dream (only older) but at the same time, the ease in speaking with him reminded me of Syaoran. I wondered if there was any correlation.

            "Well, I must be going," Eriol said. "I've a meeting with Professor Dumbledore at nine thirty, and I've no idea where his office is. I'll try asking Hagrid, he might know."

            "Good idea," I said. "Professor Dumbledore is a nice person, I don't think he'd mind you being a little late if you can't find his office."

            "Thank you," Eriol smiled and left.

            I sat down on the front step. I pulled out my bag, in which were a few sheets of normal white paper and some mechanical pencils, which I planned to use to sketch pictures of my teachers, fellow students, and the classrooms. David was going to be well versed in the people of Hogwarts well before he came there. And he _would_ come there.

            Also early to the class was Hermione Granger, who took a seat next to me. Of course she would sit there too, it was the nearest to Professor Sprout.

            "Good morning," I greeted her.

            "Morning. Sleep well?"

            "Yes," I said, smiling. "The beds are quite comfortable here, aren't they?"

            "I agree," she said. "What's that you're drawing there?"

            "Professor Sprout," I answered. "I'm sending it to my baby brother when I'm done. He's coming over in two years as well, so I want to introduce him to people before he comes."

            "That's nice," she said. "I wish I could draw. Then I'd do the same thing for my parents. They're Muggle, you see."  
            "Oh," I said. "So are my parents. Well, my Mom is, but my Dad's a Squib. Hey, I know. I saw a spell for copies in the index. Maybe I can just copy my drawings and you can have one of each one I do."

            "Really? You'd do that for me?" Hermione smiled. "Thanks!"

            "No problem," I grinned. "So, you want to be a good student here, too?"

            "Yeah," she smiled. "I read through all the books already. I love to read, I want to learn all I can about this world."

            "Me, too!" I smiled. "I'm a writer, too. My English isn't so good, but I think my stories are pretty imaginative. And that was _before_ we came here." We laughed together. A polite disposition and a few of the same hobbies always are great ways to make friends. 

            "I would love to read some," Hermione said. "I'm more of a poet than a storywriter, though."

            "Really? I'd love to read yours!" I smiled. "I love poetry, but I can't really rhyme very well." (AN-She didn't write the above song. David did.)

            By this time, the steps were filled with students. There were a total of seventeen students. There were the nine from Griffindor and eight from Hufflepuff. Did Professor Dumbledore want me to choose people from my own class? If so, this wasn't going to help much. 

            "Everyone's here, then?" asked Professor Sprout. "Off we go! Greenhouse 1, I'd say. In this class, we'll be learning about all the wonderful plants and fungi that we witches and wizards use in our potions, and other such things."

            The class went on, but I found it difficult to follow. I was never good with plants, my thumb is quite brown. I also had difficulty taking notes, because we obviously weren't sitting in desks. We weren't even sitting, actually. Every time Professor Sprout asked a question, Hermione and I raced to answer it. Just because I had a brown thumb didn't mean I couldn't answer questions about these weird plants.

            The class lasted about an hour and twenty minutes, and then we were released to go directly to our next class, History of Magic. Hermione and I chattered the entire way, talking about all sorts of different things we'd learned through books. One of our favorite topics turned out to be the book I'd bought for myself: _Hogwarts, A History_. She had also bought a copy.

            "Wow, we've got so much in common, it's uncanny!" Hermione said, smiling. 

            "You're better with the plants than I am," I said, smiling. "You repotted that dillyweed much better than I did."

            "It's nothing, you're just putting some dirt over it," Hermione sniffed. "Anyway, you're good at recalling information, too. I'd have to have studied a lot longer than you did."

            "You'd be surprised," I laughed. "You're definitely going to be better in History of Magic. I _hate _history. I really do. But I guess, since it's new, and I'm not learning about Columbus discovering America and World War II and stuff, I'll be able to hang on for the ride."

            "Ride?" Lavender laughed beside me. "Believe me, most of us will be asleep in this class. Binns is the worst sort of teacher."

            "I'll believe that when I see it," I said.

            When I walked into the classroom and saw that Binns wasn't even there yet, I started feeling the truth in Lavender's words. But I was determined to accept Binns' way of teaching. After all, I had to try to get top marks in this class. At least we got to sit down for this one.

            When a ghost suddenly came through the wall and "stood" at the podium, though, that's when it sunk in. Then he started speaking.

            "Morning, class," he said in a slow, drawling voice. "In the 1800s, the goblins started many rebellions. Among the most famous of them was Uric the Oddball."

            I started scrambling down the notes in my neat handwriting, keeping pace with every name and date the old ghost rambled off. If this was how he held class every day, I was going to have to study a lot harder in this class.

            "We'll have to work hard on this class," Hermione whispered, even as her hand flew across the page. Her notes were as organized as mine, but by the end of the class, my handwriting had turned into scrawl, while hers remained neat.

            "I don't see how you can retain your handwriting," I said, holding up my limp hand as I packed up my notes (only one piece of parchment—which happened to be about two feet long), quill, inkwell, and book. It turned out we (duh) didn't need our wands, or even our books, really. He covered what I'd read in the book, but he also made remarks on other things.

            "Your homework tonight is a foot essay on Uric the Oddball and his effect on the rebellions," said Binns. The class groaned, but he was already gone and did not hear any complaints.

            I took out a clean sheet of parchment and wrote _Homework_ in large script at the top. Then I made a bullet and wrote _1 foot essay. Uric the Oddball. Effect on the Rebellion._ Finally, I made a line beside it.

            "That's smart," said Hermione.

            "Yeah," I smiled. "I used to get a lot of homework back home, in Muggle school. I'm used to it. The quills and parchment are new on me, though."

            "Me, too," Hermione said. "I never thought that I would one day be learning how to repair glasses with a flick of a piece of special wood." We laughed.

            "I know," I said. "I never knew that my Uncle was a wizard, even though he came and visited us when I was two years old. Then suddenly he shows up mid-July, and I'm here."

            "I still can't believe your cousin is Malfoy," said Hermione. "Or that he did that to you. It just goes to show that you can't judge a book by its cover."

            "Or a person, for that matter," I said. "I really didn't think that you would be my friend. I thought you were going to be my rival for a long time there."  
            "Me, too, actually," said Hermione. "But I think we match up well."

            "Me, too." 

            We laughed and headed up to the Griffindor Tower to get our things.

***

            After a light lunch of turkey sandwiches, a salad, and an apple, we decided to take a small exploratory walk around. We had forty-five minutes before the next class, and neither of us wanted to start on our homework yet.

            "Let's find the library," Hermione said. "I've heard they have the best library in the country right here at Hogwarts." As soon as we left the Great Hall, I ran right into the same black robes as before.

            "Angel, are you all right?" Eriol asked. Hermione knelt down and helped me pick up my notes and such. "I'm sorry, we just keep running into each other, don't we?"

            "Yeah, I'm sorry, Eriol," I smiled. "Oh, this is my friend, Hermione Granger." 

            "Ah, another of my Eastern Magic students," he said, smiling. 

            "You're taking Eastern Magic, too?" I asked.

            "Yes, I am," Hermione said. "Professor Hiiragizawa—"

            "Eriol, please," he said. 

            "Eriol, then," Hermione blushed. "Could you direct us to the library?"  
            "I was headed there myself, actually," he said, grabbing a sandwich from one of the platters. "Just wanted a bite to eat on the way. Walk with me, won't you? We'll find our way together."

            "You don't know the way, either?" I asked. 

            "No, no, I don't," Eriol smiled again. "You see, I arrived the same night the students did. I'm as clueless as you two are. I barely found my classroom."

            The three of us laughed. 

            "Well, off we go, then," Hermione said. "We're blocking the Great Hall."

            "Indeed we are," Eriol smiled. 

            We found the library all right, and Hermione and I checked out a book each. I checked out a book on easier plant care, one that Madam Pince suggested for my "brown thumbed disease". Hermione had one about historical figures. She said she'd tell me if she found anything interesting, and I vice-versa.

            Hermione and I made our way to the Charms classroom, where the other Griffindors were slowly gathering. Professor Flitwick was tiny, and stood on a stack of books to be seen at all. He took roll. He paused at my name, and smiled at me quickly. 

            "A historical figure, in my class. Welcome to England, milady." 

            He continued, but his eyes went wide and he fell over the chair when he reached Harry's name. Poor kid, he'd been stared at almost all day long.

            The bell rang at last for the end of the day, and we filed out of Professor Flitwick's classroom. We had started learning how to hold our wands, something Hermione and I had learned long, long ago.

            Hermione and I went back to the Griffindor Common Room and sat down in two fluffy armchairs before a coffee table. We set out our homework, which included the foot essay from Binns and a detailed description of proper wand handling from Flitwick.

            "So, do you have any brothers?" I asked as I started writing about Uric the Oddball.

            "Nope, I'm an only child," Hermione answered. "My parents are both dentists."

            "It shows," I smiled. Her teeth were pearly white, but the two front teeth were rather large. "My Dad's ex-Navy, he used to work on airplanes. Now he's a loan officer for the Bank of America."

            "Cool," Hermione said. "What's it like, to have a little brother?"

            "Well, sometimes it's difficult, because he _always_ wants attention," I said. "But then again, he's the sweetest little kid I've ever met. He loves to play role-playing games. He's dyslexic, so he doesn't share my reading and writing love, but he's trying. I should be getting a letter from him soon."

            "Oh, poor kid!" Hermione said. "I would hate it if I had trouble reading."

            "Me, too," I said. "But he deals with it." I finished up writing everything I could remember about Uric the Oddball. I pulled out a ruler and measured it. "Think Binns will mind if it's two inches longer?"  
            "I don't think so," Hermione shook her head. "It shows that you paid attention, even through his long and droning speech." She finished hers, too, and found that it was about a half a centimeter longer. Of course, her handwriting was a little more spaced than mine was.

            "Well, that's done," I said. "I can't believe how many kids didn't read their books, or at least the first chapter of them, before school started. I mean, they had the time, you know?"

            "I agree," Hermione nodded. 

            "I mean, Hogwarts is kind of like the Harvard of magic school right? Or Oxford, in your case," I said. "And in both those schools, you're expected to have read the first hundred pages, at least, of your term books. Most people know that."

            "Yeah," Hermione nodded. We both got out another sheet of parchment and finished the essay for Flitwick, too. 

            "Since we've got some time, mind if I draw you?" I asked. "We can send it back with Sakura when she gets here. I think she'll probably get here in the morning. She can make the flight in two days."

            "Okay," Hermione nodded.

***

            "Eriol Hiiragizawa?!" Syaoran shouted. "You're joking!"

            "No, I'm not," I said. "That's his name. He insisted on being called Eriol, and he says he thinks that we may have known each other before we were born. He's a bit strange."

            "That's exactly what Eriol said to Sakura when they first met," Syaoran said, his eyes going wild. "This is insane! He's in Tomoeda right now, he can't possibly be in two places at once!"

            "Is that possible?" I asked. "I mean, he does claim to be the strongest magician in the world…"

            "No, even in the magic world, it's basically impossible," said Syaoran. "You can't be in two places at once. Impossible."

            "Well, maybe it's all coincidence," I said. "I mean, the name thing. Maybe they just know each other, or maybe they're brothers. It could be a million different things. They don't feel the same, you know."

            "Feel the same?"

            "The one in the dream, he doesn't feel the same as the one outside. There's a difference, it's slight, but there is."

            "Hmm…"

            "Let's swim," I said.

***

Actually, Eriol isn't his real name. You'll find out who he really is later. ^_^. I love to swim and exercise, but I'm fat. Yes, Angel is very, very, very much like myself. No, I don't have Solid Dreams, but I do get a precognitive dream (yes, real ones) every once in a while. I just honed the skill.


	7. Hermione and Eastern Magic

This one is dedicated to my two reviewers, Darkenesswithinonesheart and crystalshower. I love the reviews I'm getting for this one, though I would really like more. I wonder if there are people who read this and just decide not to review a story. Hmm.

Guess what?! I have a 50/50 chance of getting my novel published! The publisher I've been talking to is really interested in my ideas and he wants to review the manuscript. He says they usually work through agents, but he wants to make an exception with me. Yea!

Anyways. Disclaimer: I don't own Sakura or Harry. But I may just be having my own characters to own soon! YIPPEE! 

Quote of the Update: "But…I haven't remembered any of my dreams in so long." –Sakura, _CCS:MotC_, Vol 5

Jaded Angels and Silken Blossoms 

Chapter 7: _Hermione and Eastern Magic_

***

            Six o'clock the next morning, I awoke to the sounds of birds chirping. Syaoran had told me to be wary of Eriol, in any case. I pulled on my robes and packed up my bags again for a new day and a new string of classes.

            The first one of the day was Transfiguration. I was looking forward to this class most of all, because I'd always wanted to be able to change things with the flick of a wand. Following that was Defense Against the Dark Arts, Lunch, and Charms again.

            Hermione and I chattered away the entire breakfast, eating healthily along the way. Neville Longbottom had taken to waking up early and eating with us, copying the platter I was eating. It wasn't so much annoying as it was inspiring. I had never seen a boy so determined to lose weight. After breakfast, he took a large bottle of water and ran around the building three times. 

            At half past eight, Hermione and I walked through the Great Hall doors and I ran into Eriol, like clockwork.

            "Now this is just getting ridiculous!" Hermione said. "Angel, Eriol, you really need to stop that! Honestly!" The three of us cracked up and knelt to, once again, pick up my things.

            "You're lucky, Eriol," I said. "You never seem to be carrying anything."

            "Not this early in the morning," he smiled. "Well, I must speak with Dumbledore. See you tomorrow, girls."

            "See you, Eriol!"

            Hermione and I made our way to the Transfiguration classroom and sat down in the front desk. Each desk had three seats in it. We left the one on the right open, in case anyone else wanted to sit at the front of the room.

            "Good morning, girls," said Professor McGonagall. We were the only ones in the room. "You're early."

            "Earlier than the rest," Hermione said.

            "The early bird catches the worm," I recited.

            "Quite right," Professor McGonagall said. "Would you be willing to help me? I've got to move some of these things into the supply closet."

            "Certainly," Hermione and I smiled. 

            "So what are we going to do today?" Hermione asked.

            "First take some notes," McGonagall said, heaving a large crate into my arms. It was actually quite light to me, but it was fairly heavy to a person who hasn't been working out. "Then we will be attempting our first transfiguration. A match into a needle."

            "Oh, sounds like fun," I said. "I've always wanted to change stuff. I think this will be my favorite class."

            "Perhaps," McGonagall said. She tried to keep a straight face, but I could tell she was grinning.

            The crates moved, Professor McGonagall's space was now cleaned and well organized. The students started to file into the classroom and Hermione and I took our seats again, taking out some parchment and our quills and wands.

            As soon as everyone was in the classroom, she was suddenly strict and serious.

            "Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts," she said. "Anyone caught messing around in my class will leave and not return. Have I made myself clear?"

            The class nodded.

            She changed herself into a cat and back again, and then changed her desk into a large hog and back again. We took the notes she spoke of, which would seem complicated if I hadn't already read through the book. Transfiguration was one of the classes that Molly had wanted me to focus on preparing myself for, so I was pretty prepared.

            Professor McGonagall handed out the matches and told us to begin. Hermione pointed her wand at the match and it changed silver. She started trying to make it pointy. However, I had already changed a match into a needle and back again several times before. The trick was to get the shape first, and then try to change its color. 

            "Look, everyone, Ms. Indigo has done it!" McGonagall shouted to the class. "Ten points to Griffindor!" I received one of her rare praising smiles as she set the needle back down on my desk. "Change it back, if you can, Angel."

            I pointed my wand to it and started backwards. First the color changed. Let me tell you, a tan colored needle is hard to find against a fine-grain desk. I found it again and started changing its shape. By the end of class, it was back to normal again.

            "How'd you do that?" Hermione asked.

            "I practiced over the summer," I answered. "I'm staying with a wizard family, and as long as I was practicing in front of a licensed wizard, I was all right."

            "I read as much into it as I could before the class," Hermione said. "But I guess reading about it and actually doing it is a whole different matter."

            "It always is, 'Mione," I said. "That's why writers write from experience."

            Defense Against the Dark Arts turned out to be a bit of a joke. Everything was from the book, by the book, and for the book. Anyone who could read halfway decently and write with a third grade education could ace the class.

            The classroom and teacher, however, were most interesting. Garlic was everywhere, and Quirrell's turban was a real laugh. However, every time he turned his head, I got this feeling, deep in the pit of my stomach. It was worst that when Draco had showed himself a liar. Worst than that feeling I got when I saw Lucius glaring at me. 

            "Hey, Hermione," I said as we walked out of the classroom together. "You get the feeling he's got something wrong with him?"

            "Other than the garlic and the turban?" Hermione asked. 

            "Yeah, other than that stuff," I said, looking back. "Under that turban, I mean. Who would want to wear that thing? It's still summer time! I know it's cooling off, but I've heard he was wearing it in the dead of summer."

            "That is rather peculiar," Hermione nodded. "But what of it? He's a strange person, sure, but he's a teacher."

            "Teacher or not, something's fishy with him," I said. "And I'm gonna find out what."

***

            Hermione and I did our homework together again. Sakura still hadn't come yet, and I was getting worried.

            "Maybe she's just tired," Hermione suggested. "She's an owl, not a plane."

            "That's true," I laughed. "I wish there was a TV around here. Then I could watch the weather and see if it was just a storm or something."

            "How would they get it to work?" Hermione asked.

            "They wouldn't," I said. "Hey, we've got astronomy tomorrow night, right? I took Muggle astronomy last year. I wonder how different it'll be?"  
            "Probably not much," Hermione said. "Except we're going to learn how to apply it."

            "Yeah."

***

            The next morning, we awoke and went down to breakfast. When the owls flew in, so did Sakura.

            "Sakura!" I said. "Where have you been, girl? Are you okay?"

            Sakura hooted at me and took a few drinks from my goblet. 

            "Thanks, girl," I said. There were three papers attached to Sakura, which I detached. "Go wait in the Owlry, okay? Get some rest, I'll be up after Astronomy class to give you the new letters, okay?"

            She hooted and took off.

            _Dear Angel,_

_            How are you, dear? We loved hearing about the Weasleys. They sound like a very nice family. What House did you get in? We bought a book called _Hogwarts, A History_, and learned a little about it. _

_            Thank you for your letter to David. We think he really enjoyed hearing from you. He said he had a dream where you were with him. He said you had another boy there, who was only speaking Japanese. Imagine that!_

_                                                      Love,_

_                                              Mom and Dad_

            "Yeah, imagine that," I said. Shaking my head, I opened another of the envelopes.

            _Quick note here: We kept Sakura here because there was a bad storm passing through Virginia. _

            "Okay, that explains that."

            _Dear Angel,_

_            Hey, Sissy! I told Mom about our dream. She didn't believe me! Can you believe that?! Anyway, I did okay on FFIX. Kuja's dead, and Garnet's beating up Zidane! They're gonna get maried. A quill and inkpot? Cool! I love it! I'm gonna try it! I think I'm okay with the writing. What do you think? I wanna pay Quidditch! It sounds like fun!_

_            Keep it up, Sissy! Love u! David._

            "Aw, that's sweet," Hermione smiled. "He sounds like a cool kid."

            "He is," I smiled. "He is."

***

            The day passed by until finally, it was time for our Eastern Magic class. Eriol's classroom was on the second floor corridor on the left-hand side in the first classroom on the right. It was a large and spacious classroom with a chalkboard and a dusty teacher's desk. There was a row of three desks, each seating two. 

            Hermione and I sat in the middle desk and chatted with Eriol until the bell rang, in which time four other kids had filed into the room.

            "This class is small because it is a very difficult course, one which is in its primary stages at this time," Eriol said. "You may all call me Eriol, because that is my name. I have three first year students and three third year students."

            He glanced at the six of us.

            "I chose each of you because you are strong in your own power, and because each of you has a unique magical ability. Two of you have that same magical ability, one which I have been tracking closely."

            Magical ability? He didn't mean my dreams, did he?

            "Please, stand and state your name, House, and ability, if you know what it is," Eriol said. "Let's start at this end and go that way."

(AN-Correct me if I'm wrong, _please_. I can't scratch my brain hard enough to remember whether Fred and George are a year or two years older than Ron.)

            "Um…I'm Fred Weasley, Griffindor House, you know," he said. "Not quite sure what my…er…magical ability is."

            "Quite simple, really," said Eriol brightly. "Perception. You can perceive the value of something without knowing much about it. Very good for getting good marks on tests." He winked.

            "Oh…"

            "George Weasley, also Griffindor House," he said. "I dunno what mine is, either."

            "Slightly different from your brother, you've got a very clever Inner Eye. You can tell the possible future," Eriol said.

            "Well, I'm Hermione Granger, also Griffindor House," she smiled. "I have what's called Solid Precognition Dreams."

            "Actually, you can do Solid Retrocognitive Dreams as well," said Eriol. "You and Angel were the reason I wanted to start this class. The two of you have the very powerful skill of being able to conjure up people and things into your dreams and remember them as though you'd done them while you were awake. It's almost as if you didn't have to sleep at all."

            "Really?" I blinked. 

            "Yes," Eriol nodded. "I sort of gave you both a nudge in the right direction by giving you each a contact to talk to who has the same ability. Angel, introduce yourself, and I'll explain in greater depth."

            "Angel Indigo, Griffindor House," I said. "What do you mean?"

            "You've both been talking to a special person who also has Solid Pre/Retrocognitive Dreams during the night," he explained. "Angel, you've been talking with Syaoran Li, a boy from Hong Kong. He happens to know my brother, who is also called Eriol Hiiragizawa. Hermione has been talking with Sakura Kinomoto."

            "The girl that Syaoran likes?" I said.

            "That's the one. Anyhow, you two, I can explain later. Let's continue."

            "Draco Malfoy, _Slytherin_ House," said my cousin. How had he gotten to be the other first year? "I can talk to things."

            "Omnitongue," said Eriol. "He can speak any language without trouble."

            "Heather Lionheart, Hufflepuff House," said the last girl, a rather strong-looking girl who looked like she could really do some damage. But she seemed to Angel to be just like Hagrid—a gentle giant. "Don't quite know what it's called, but I can Transfigure molecules."

            "A very rare case of Minute Transfiguration," said Eriol. "Heather can create anything, literally, from thin air."

            "No Ravenclaws?" I asked.

            "Unfortunately not," said Eriol. "Now, I have chosen each of you for your unique talents, as I said. Hermione, Angel, I'd like you two to join your dreamscapes together and learn as much as you can from Syaoran. He can help you a great deal.

            "Today, we will be learning a bit more about what we will basically be learning this semester. They include simple talismon magic, the magic circle, and card creation. Anyone can do Eastern Magic with the tiniest bit of magic. But there are very few who become powerful in them like the great Clow Reed. You will each make a team of eight cards combining your own Western Magic and the Eastern Magic you learn here."

            "Sounds hard," I cringed.

            "Everything sounds hard until you master the basics," said Eriol. "Just trust yourself and trust me and trust your friends, and it becomes simple."

            Trust Draco? Yeah, right. That was asking for a miracle. I would never trust Draco Malfoy again.

***

            "He's inducing it?" Syaoran asked.

            "Well, not anymore," I said. "He only connected us that first time. We're doing the rest on our own, basically. He asked me to ask you to train me in Eastern Magic. And another girl. Hold on, I'll bring her over here."

            I called up Hermione in my brain, and suddenly, she was standing there in my blank white void. She wasn't alone. Sakura came with her.

            "Syaoran?" she said. "What are you doing here?"

            "Hello," I smiled. "You must be Sakura."

            "Yes, that's my name, but who are you?"

            "I'm Angel," I said. "I brought you here. According to your Eriol's brother, our Eriol, we all have something called Solid Pre/Retrocognitive Dreams. That's how we're all connected like this."

            "Oh…neat," Sakura smiled. "I haven't been able to remember my dreams until I see Hermione again, so I'm clueless when I wake up."

            "That's why you haven't said anything," Syaoran said. 

            "It's just that her magic isn't strong enough yet," Hermione said. "Remember, Eriol said this was very powerful magic. He connected us so that we could make her stronger."

            "But she won't be able to remember that when she 'fights' the other Eriol," I said. "The other Eriol is lying, he said he wants to make everyone in Tomoeda sleep forever, but it's just a ruse. For what reason, I do not know."  
            "Isn't Eriol going to teach us how to make cards?" Hermione asked.  
            "Yes, he is," I nodded. "Weird. Okay, let's try a magic duel. Maybe that'll get us all warmed up."

***

There's a nice little clue for ya'll. Can you figure out who "Eriol" is now?


	8. Potions

I decided to be nice. Here's the eighth chapter, too. I so excited about _The Guiding_! Ever notice that nobody gets along with Snape???

Quote of the Update: "Morning is almost here. Don't you want your friends to see it?" –Eriol, MotC, Vol 5

Disclaimer: Don't own. Do care. 

Jaded Angels and Silken Blossoms 

Chapter 8:_ Potions_

***

            When we woke up the next morning, Hermione and I exchanged a glance and smiled. The night had been productive.

            "That was fun," I said.

            "It sure was."

***

            The only class remaining that week was Potions, and it was the only new class we would take. Well, besides the three flying lessons we'd have with Madam Hooch starting next week, but they didn't really count for much. You weren't exactly graded on how well you flew in three days.

            Owls flew into the room that Friday morning, and Sakura was in the lead. She dropped three envelopes on the table, two addressed to me and one addressed to Hermione.

            "My parents are very pleased," Hermione smiled. "They said they're glad I made a friend."

            "Mine, too," I smiled. "And David. He said to tell you you're cute. Sakura, I'll let you rest for a little while, all right? You go get some rest, I'll see you on Sunday."

            Sakura hooted and flew away.

            "It's like the two of you were made for each other," Hermione said. "Your eyes are so much alike."  
            "I know, isn't it a bit strange, though?" 

            "I don't think so."

            "If you say so," I sighed. "Let's get to the dungeons. This is not going to be pretty. I've heard Snape favors his own House."

            "Me, too," Hermione sighed. "Let's go."

            Hermione and I arrived in the dungeons and were greeted by a vast empty classroom. Snape was nowhere in sight, and there weren't any other students early to this class.

            We waited the fifteen minutes till class was to start, and students began to show up. Noticeably avoiding us were Harry and Ron, but in addition to them was my dear cousin and his little friends. The combination between being ignored and the heated atmosphere of the cruel dungeon was enough to make anyone feel depressed. 

            And then _he_ came in.

            Snape was a slimy man before I ever even saw him. The instant he crashed into the dungeon and slammed the door, I got a sinking feeling that I would regret coming here at all. When I saw him, my fears were realized. Snape was a man of extremes. His hair was extremely greasy and long, his nose was nearly as much, his face was extremely pale, and he was cloaked in black robes that nearly smothered him. His voice was a whispered howl, quiet to the ear, but loud in the resounding dungeon in which he held his classes.

            Snape took roll, just as Flitwick had, and just as Flitwick had, he paused at my name. Unlike Flitwick, he did not smile. Also unlike Flitwick, he did not welcome me. On the contrary, he was moody about it.

            "Angel Indigo. The American," he said, his voice silky and far from sweet. He walked over and leaned on my desk, staring me straight in the eyes. My face heated up and I leaned away from him as much as I could. His eyes were the darkest pits of brownish murk I'd ever seen. Snape had seen much; perhaps too much. "I will do my best…to make sure…that you fail."

            Fail? Why would he want me to fail?

            "I won't," I said, my voice stubborn. "I will be the best Griffindor First Year in Potions this year. You kin bet y'ur bottom dolla' on it, sah." My Southern accent had taken over, and that meant only one thing. It meant that I was very angry.

            "We'll see." 

            He drew back, like a retreating soldier on a war-torn battlefield. He would be back, but I can tell you that he would not win the war. Snape straightened out his list of names and continued down the list. He reached Harry's name and also stopped.

            "Harry Potter. Our new celebrity. We've a team, ladies and gentlemen." The Slytherins all laughed. Draco laughed the loudest of them all.

            "You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art that is Potion-making," said Snape. "As there is little foolish wand-waving, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will understand the beauty of a softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep in human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses…I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, and even stopper death—if you aren't as much a group of dunderheads as I usually have to teach." 

            This man really had a way with words. He'd just brought up everyone's hopes and then dashed them to pieces with a tad of pure poetry. Too bad he was a jerk.

            "Potter! What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" he asked the question so rapidly, I wasn't sure I'd caught the question myself. Hermione's hand shot into the air, however. She clearly knew the answer.

            "I don't know, sir," Harry answered.

            "Tut, tut, clearly…fame isn't everything," said Snape. Then he rounded on me. "Indigo! A question from our lesson today, I might add. If I was making a cure for boils, when should I add the porcupine quills? Before or after I took the cauldron from the fire?"

            "After," I said, with confidence. Any idiot would know that! It was a simple _cooking_ rule that you don't add ingredients over a true flame.

            "Very good," he slithered like a serpent. "But another question. What's the difference between monkswood and wolfsbane?"

            I knew what wolfsbane was, but what was monkswood? Monkswood, monkswood, monkswood. Oh…great. "I'm not sure what monkswood is, sir."

            "You know wolfsbane, then?" he smirked. He was trying to catch me in a lie!

            "Yes, sir," I said. "It's a plant used to keep werewolves under control. It's also called aconite and something else."

            "That 'something else' _is_ monkswood," he said, crossing his arms over his chest. "Clearly, you didn't read as well as you thought you had. Potter, another for you. Where would I look for a bezoar?"

            I knew that one! But I decided to let Harry have it, if he knew. After all, it was he who had been asked the question. Hermione was jumping out of her seat trying to answer.

            "I don't know, sir," Harry said, looking red in the face. "I think Hermione knows, why don't you ask her?"

            "Sit _down_, you silly girl," Snape snapped at Hermione. She did, looking taken aback. "For your information, Potter, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it's known as the Drought of the Living Death. A bezoar is a stone found in the stomach of a goat and can save you from most poisons. _Well?!_ Why aren't you all writing that down?"

            While I had already been taking notes on his words, because I was used to taking notes anyway, most of the class scrambled to get parchment, quills, and ink out to write it down before they forgot. That did not include my dear cousin.

            As Snape had promised, we were making a potion to cure boils today. He paired us all off and most were doing poorly. Hermione and I were trying to follow the directions correctly, even while Draco and Crabbe were jeering at us. Goyle had been paired up unhappily with Neville, and I saw the results very quickly. An explosion rocked the dungeon and Neville and Goyle were covered in warts.

            "You put the porcupine quills in while it was on the fire," Snape said coldly. "Get up to the hospital wing, both of you. Detention tonight at six o'clock. You'll be making up for the mess you created here. Ten points from Griffindor."

            He said nothing about Slytherin. 

***

            Two weeks into the semester on a Thursday was to be our flying lessons, with the Slytherins. Throughout that time, Harry and Ron seemed to totally ignore Hermione and I. Neville wasn't quite as adamant about eating exactly like me anymore, but he still woke up early with us. This morning, everyone seemed to be early. When the owls flew in, Neville got a package from his gran.

            "A Remembral," I said, smiling. "Cool."

            "Yeah," he said, grinning. "It'll help me a lot, I'm always forgetting things. Oh, no…" The Remembral had suddenly turned red, which meant Neville had forgotten something already.

            "Well, look here, fellas," Draco said, taking the globe from Neville's hands. 

            "Give it back, Malfoy," Harry said, standing up.

            "Or what?"

            "Is something wrong here?" asked Professor McGonagall.

            "Malfoy's got my Remembral, Professor," Neville said.

            "Just looking," Draco said and gave it back. He walked away in disgust. Sakura flew into the building in a hurry and nearly hit Professor McGonagall.

            "I'm sorry, Professor, she's just a little—"              
            "Not to worry, I had to train up my Snowy the same way," she said and walked off. Tied to Sakura's leg were a package and an envelope.

            _Dear Angel,_

_            Just thought you'd like some treats for you and Hermione and anyone else you wanna share it with. I know you don't get to have a lot of soda or candy, so I sent some. There's also a special surprise!_

_                                                            Love, David_

            I opened the package to find a bunch of Muggle candy and two cans of Pepsi. There was also a notebook of some sort, reminding me of a photo album. It read "Angel's Scrapbook" on the front. Inside were some pictures David had taken of me and him and our parents before I'd left. But they were moving like the portraits in the school!

            A small note fell out of the album.

            _I found a store in the Kansas Magical Shopping Center just for Muggles with wizard family. Mom bought a photo solution that you can use yourself to make pictures _move_. Cool, huh? Now you can fill up your album with all your drawings and stuff. When you get done with your first year, send it back. That way, I get to find out what happened all year long! _

            "Aw, what a sweetie!" I smiled. "Hey, Hermione, want some candy?"     

***

            Three-thirty came and we all marched out onto the field. Madam Hooch was waiting for us. The Slytherins outnumbered us twelve to nine. As I was already well versed in broomstick handling, I was ready and waiting patiently for the commands. Hermione looked like she was on the edge of her life and Neville looked even worse. I was prepared to fly after them if anything happened. Several of the Slytherins also looked the same way.

            "Well, what is everyone waiting for? Step up to your wand hand's side of your broom and stick your wand hand over your broomstick like so," said she. Her short gray and wild yellow eyes watched us all like a hawk. It was quite obvious she'd had years of training to be the school broom teacher and Quidditch coach and referee.

            "Say 'UP'. With feeling!"     

            The moment I said "UP!" the broom flew gently into my hand. Hermione looked nervously at her broom, which had barely rolled over. Neville was worse off, his hadn't moved at all. Harry was the only other Griffindor to have the broom in his hand the first time. The Slytherins had one, another girl whose name I did not know. Draco's had also rolled over. 

            Then she showed us how to mount the brooms. I was delighted to find that I had it right and Draco had been doing it wrong for years. I wonder what would have happened if we had the right kind of crosswind…

            "Now, when I blow my whistle, kick off the ground, hard. Rise a few feet, then lower down gently by leaning forward. On my command. One…two…"

            Neville, probably so nervous that he couldn't hear or see straight, rose off the ground before the whistle. He started whimpering the moment he left the ground and didn't stop rising.

            "Boy, get down here!" commanded Madam Hooch. 

            "He ain't comin' down," I said, my Southern accent creeping again. "Not 'less you go up an' git 'im." Neville's broom rose faster, and since Madam Hooch had no broom of her own, I made quick action. 

            "Hang on!" I shouted and kicked off the ground, too.

            "Girl! Girl, we don't need two up there, get back here."

            "Back in a jiff," I smiled and raced after him. The broom I was on was leaned slightly to the left and I took advantage of that and dove to the right just a little. I grabbed Neville's broom handle in my hand and stopped it short.

            "Kid, ya really got to learn," I said, shaking my head. "Come on, down we go."

            "I'm scared," Neville whimpered. He wasn't as fat as he had been at the start of school, but his chubbiness hadn't gone away yet.

            "I know, so was I the first time," I said. "Now just carefully put the nose down. Force yourself to think. You ain't stupid like Draco, you're smarter than you think." He nodded and took a deep breath. "Grip the handle. You're in charge. This is your story to write, and your gonna write."

            "You'll help me, right?" Neville asked.

            "Of course. Come on. Slow as she goes," I said. "See? Nothing to it. Now bring it down. Slowly…good!" Neville coasted down to a stop about two feet from the ground in front of the nineteen others. The Griffindors cheered us both.

            "Well done, Ms. Indigo, well done," said Madam Hooch. "Your judgment was right on, this time." I laughed and shrugged.

            "I just remembered how scary it was to fly for the first time, is all," I said. "Empathy is a good thing to have. Right, Neville?"

            He grinned.

            "Now, let's continue, shall we?"

***

            At supper that night, Professor McGonagall walked past the table and dropped a quick note on my plate. She also dropped one in Harry's plate. When I opened the note, exchanging a quick glance with Hermione, I gave a double take.

            _Meet Wood and I in my classroom. I have a proposition.—Professor McGonagall._

            Who on Earth was Wood? Why meet her in her classroom? 

            "I've gotta go, Hermione," I said. "Professor McGonagall wants to see me. I'll see you upstairs for our homework session."

            "Okay, see you."

            "See ya."

            Taking one last swig of pumpkin juice (which I'd taken to liking a great deal), I headed out into the hall. Harry was also walking there. For a moment, I thought it was coincidence, but when he started heading for Professor McGonagall's classroom, too, I grew suspicious.

            "Did you get a note from McGonagall, too?" I asked.

            "Yeah. No explanation. You, too?"

            "Yup. I wonder who Wood is?"

            "No clue. You were spectacular, by the way."

            "It's no big deal," I shrugged. "Me and Neville have a little in common, so I knew something like that was going to happen."

            "Huh? How could you and Neville have a lot in common?"

            "You didn't listen too well when I was giving my little health lesson, did you?" I asked, chuckling. "I used to be bigger then he is, kid."

            "Kid?"

            I shook my head roughly. "Sorry, you remind me of someone I used to nickname that. Sorry."

            "Who?"

            "My little brother," I grimaced. "He's a lot like you, only two years younger. Of course, he doesn't quite have your aura."

            "Aura?"

            "You're really one for one-word questions, ain't ya," I grinned. His face tinged slightly pink, but he didn't say anything else. "I'm actually kind of surprised that you weren't chosen to be in the Eastern Magic course. Eriol must have seen that you had something special like the six of us."

            "Something special?" Harry repeated.

            "I'll explain later," I said. We had arrived at McGonagall's classroom.

            "There you two are, come in," said McGonagall as we walked into the classroom. With her was a burly fifth-year student with tousled brown hair. He was really cute, but only in looks. He seemed a bit obsessive even before he was introduced. "This is Oliver Wood, the Griffindor House Captain."

            And?

            "Unfortunately, our Quidditch team hasn't been quite up to speed these past seven years," said McGonagall. "I pleaded with Professor Dumbledore to scope out the first years this year for students who were willing and able to play on this year's team."

            "You mean, he gave the go-ahead on revoking the first year broom rule?" I asked, my mouth gaping. Just how lenient were the rules at this school? It was a small rule, yes, but still.

            "Yes, he did, Ms. Indigo," said McGonagall. "I watched your performance yesterday. Splendid, both of you."  
            "But Professor, I didn't do anything," Harry said.

            "You were on your broom, ready to assist Indigo and Longbottom if the need were there," McGonagall said. "And I'm quite sure that the two of you will make excellent Quidditch players."

            "Quite right, Professor," said Wood. "Potter's built just like a Seeker. Lean and light…and Indigo would make a good Chaser, or even a Keeper if I were knocked out of commission again. They'll need good brooms. A Cleansweep 7 or a Nimbus Two Thousand, I'd say."

            "I've got a Cleansweep 7 already," I said, speaking up. "It's at the Weasleys."

            "How on Earth did it get there?" Wood asked.

            "I flew here," I said, grinning. "All the way from Wichita, Kansas, to the Malfoy mansion, I did."

            "Y-You _flew_…" McGonagall blinked. "No wonder you're so good. Well, thank you both. Potter, you may go, I want to speak with Indigo a few minutes…Wood, you, too."

            Both boys were gone.

            "There was another reason I chose you for this, Angel," McGonagall said, stacking up some papers. "I really did think your flying to be unique before, but Professor Dumbledore asked me to do something for you. You need to choose out at least one person from Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and _Slytherin_ for your expedition in Japan."

            "I know, he explained it to me," I said. "I've already been considering the Hufflepuff representative in Heather Lionheart or Justin Finch-Fletchley."  
            "That's good, because Christmas will be upon you before you know it," Professor McGonagall smiled.

***

Sorry, I've always wanted to fly! I'm a bad Seeker.


	9. It Begins

Thanks again the Darknesswithinonesheart for reviewing. Eriol is pronounced Eh-ree-ol. Kind of like Ariel on the _Little Mermaid_, only a pronounced _eh_ sound instead of an a.

The Eriol at Hogwarts is a special person to Sakura.

Disclaimer: I do not own HP or CCS.

Quote of the Chapter: "For a moment, he was sure he'd walked into a nightmare—this was too much, on top of everything that had happened so far." –HpatSS

Jaded Angels and Silken Blossoms 

Chapter 9: _It Begins_

***

            The moment I walked into the Griffindor House Dormitory, I knew something was wrong with Hermione. She was at our normal coffee table, her notes stretched out over half of the table.

            "What happened?" I asked.

            "Harry's going to fight Malfoy," Hermione whispered, glancing over at the black-haired boy. "I overheard him. They're going to hold an illegal wizard's duel in the trophy room tonight at midnight."

            "They can't!" I hissed. "Harry won't make the team, then."

            "Team? What team?"  
            I told her.

            "She's going to let you _play_?" she asked. "First years are forbidden to even have brooms!"  
            "I know. She said she convinced Dumbledore that she was desperate," I grinned lopsidedly. "I'm glad she chose me, though." My voice dropped. "I don't think I'd _ever _have found a way to talk to a Ravenclaw without something to talk about other than my trip."

            "Yeah…what are we going to do about those boys, though?"

            "Hmm…we'll stay up, too," I said. "Stop them. At least try to knock some sense into them."

            "Yeah. Good idea. We've got a lot of homework, we should start."

            The Common Room filed out as it grew later and later. Hermione and I chose the time to read some books we had checked out from the library, most of which were Eastern Magic spells. Eriol hadn't assigned us a book, saying that most of what he taught couldn't be learned from one. We were trying anyway.

            At ten thirty, the Common Room had emptied out.  Even Ron and Harry were gone. The fire was burning low, and there were only embers remaining. I lit ("_Lumos_") the end of my wand and continued reading on the Water Dragon talismon spell. Hermione was reading a book on the history of talismon magic, something that Eriol did not plan to teach us.

            At half-past eleven, we heard footsteps coming down the boys' tower. Hermione and I turned off our wands and stacked our books neatly on the table, underneath our bags. Sure enough, Harry and Ron appeared at the foot of the stairs, robed in pajamas, bathrobes, and slippers. Silently, they crept to the portrait hole and Hermione and I felt it was time to speak up.

            "I can't believe your doing this, Harry," she said.

            "You'll lose your chance to be on the Quidditch team," I added.

            "You!" Ron snarled. "You oughta be expelled for a fat nose and a small butt, Indigo. You're no Angel, you're a devil-woman if I ever saw one!"

            "Should've told Percy," Hermione said. "A Prefect, he is. He'd put a stop to this."

            "Go to bed!"

            "This is absolute nonsense!" I said. "Breaking the rules to get at Draco isn't the way to go about it, Harry! I should know, he's my cousin!"  
            "You're related to him, of course you'll want to protect him," Harry said coolly. "Just go back to bed. Ron's right, he's told me all about you. You're a devil-woman, you are."

            Devil-woman? Where on Earth had either of them gotten such a wild idea?

            "What you got against me?" I said shrilly. "I ain't never gotten you in trouble, I tryin' to keep ya'll outta it!"

            "Well, keep _ya'll_ noses out of our business and you will!" Ron said back. His temper must be rubbing off on Hermione and me both, because we both followed him through the portrait hole, mad as cats.

            "You'll be on the train tomorrow," Hermione said. "You'll regret not listening to us, you will!"

            "Take your last look around, Ron, I'm sure your Mum's gonna be so pleased to have you back at the Burrow," I said. "At least Ginny won't be lonely anymore."

            Hermione and I turned back to go back through the portrait hole, only to find ourselves locked out. The Fat Lady was visiting Violet, apparently, and she was nowhere in sight. We were locked out.

            "Now what'll we do?" Hermione asked me shrilly.

            "No clue," I shrugged. "We can't stay here. Filch'll have our necks, too. Regardless of why we came out here, we're out here."

            "Oh…" Hermione whimpered.

            "See you," Ron turned away. "We'll be back. The Fat Lady'll be back by then."

            "We're coming with you," said Hermione. "If we run into Filch, we'll simply tell him the truth, Angel."

            "Actually, we'll run and hide and ne'er tell a lie," I said brightly.

            "Huh?"

            "Just follow them and hope Filch _doesn't _catch us," I said dully. "We should've met Syaoran and Sakura two hours ago. They're probably worried."

            "Just be _quiet_," said Ron.

            We reached the trophy room, which was covered wall to wall with crystal, silver, bronze, and gold, as well as an array of different-colored ribbons. Draco was nowhere in sight. According to Ron, Crabbe was supposed to come with him.

            "Sniff around, my sweet," said a voice. And it definitely was _not_ Draco. "They may be lurking in a corner."

            "Come on," I whispered. "He ain't comin'. Draco never comes late, but he loves laying traps. It's Filch."

            We still heard Filch muttering to Mrs. Norris as we made our own way slowly for the other door. Hermione suddenly tripped over a piece of silver, which caught on her leg like a python. She let out a yip and brought Harry down as well, clattering several more silver and gold trophies to the ground.

            "RUN!" Ron yelled at the top of his lungs. 

            "There they are, my sweet!" shouted Filch. Ron and I pulled Harry and Hermione to their feet and we took off as fast as our feet could carry us. The silver cup was still wrapped around Hermione's leg with some rope. Why had there been a pile of rope with a bunch of trophies?

            "In there!" Harry pointed to a door at the end of the corridor and tried to yank it open. It was locked. "Oh, no, we're doomed!"

            "We'll be expelled!" Ron said.

            "Oh, move _over_," Hermione shoved Harry out of the way. "_Alohomora_." The locked popped open from the simple spell and we piled into the room. Hermione peeked out the door while Ron and Harry hassled her for information on what was going on outside. I, however, was paying more attention to the life-threatening situation in which we had landed ourselves.

            It was massive. Three heads. _Heads_. Plural. It looked like it was a huge thoroughbred dog of some kind. Short black fur. One had blue eyes, one had green, and the other had brown. They had only one tail and four legs. Those four legs were standing on top of a trap door. I also noted a large bowl of water and an empty bowl of food, both embellished with a single, ornate name: _Fluffy_. But there was _nothing_ Fluffy about this dog. 

            I took that all in, and in about the two seconds it took me to reach over and tug on the sleeves of Harry's bathrobe.

            "I don't mean to be rude," I squeaked. "But Filch is better than death."

            "What do you mean, Filch is better…than…death…" Harry's eyes went wide. The dog was starting to growl. "Out! Get out!"

            We ran out of there as fast as our feet could carry us. Hermione relocked the door and we ran again. Filch was nowhere in sight, thank goodness. We reached the Griffindor Common Room and saw that Juniper had returned.

            "Goodness, what happened to you?" she asked. 

            "Huge dog," I said, grimacing. "Filch. Mrs. Norris. A backstabbing cousin. You know the drill."  

            "Ah. Yes, well, password?"

            "Pig snout."

            "You two have got to be the most idiotic dorks I have ever met," I growled once we were in the Common Room. "Just what do think they _have_ these rules for, anyway? I know you don't think you're above them, do you? You'll be expelled before you know it!" 

            "Hey, you're the one who followed us!" Ron hissed back. 

            "Idiots! I hope you're pleased with yourselves! We could all have been killed—or worse, expelled," Hermione glared at them. "Now, if you _don't_ mind, we're going to bed. Or do you two have another clever way to get us all in trouble?"

            "No, no, we're good for the night," Ron said sarcastically. Hermione scoffed at him and ran up the tower.

            "I hope you're satisfied," I said. "You oughtn't to have done that."

            "What, so now you're worried about us?" Ron asked, his voice high and mighty. "I thought you were selfish, Angel, I really did."

            "Selfish?!" I sputtered. "I…b…p…" I threw up my hands and climbed the steps after Hermione.

***

            "A _dog_?" Syaoran said. "You were attacked by a huge three-headed dog because you followed two boys whom you were trying to get out of trouble and nearly got yourself in trouble. Is that it?"

            "Well, yes," Hermione said, rolling her eyes. "It was awful!"

            "You left one thing out, 'Mione," I said. "There was a trap door. The dog is guarding something."    

            "A trap door?" Hermione inquired. "I didn't see one."

            "No, I don't think Harry or Ron saw it, either," I said. "A bit too worried about its heads to look down?"

            "Yeah," Hermione nodded. "Anyway, I found some interesting information in _The History of Talismons_. Clow Reed's mum, Su Li, helped create talismons for the public use. She really loved Muggles."

            "Yeah, but she got in trouble, didn't she?" I asked. "I mean, come on, even China has to have a Muggle Protection law, right? They could hurt themselves if they didn't know what they were doing."

            "Yes, she was arrested and charged with several things," Hermione said, materializing the book. "In fact, Clow was raised by his father, James Reed, for half of his teenage life. That may be the reason why most of the magic Clow used had a Chinese twist to it; he missed his mum."

            "That would explain a lot," Syaoran nodded. Sakura was absent from our blank void, watching the precognitive dream in hopes of remembering at least a tiny scrap of it in the morning. "He used a lot of elementals in the Clow Cards."

            "Like?" I asked. 

            "Watery, Fiery, Lightning, Earthy," Syaoran listed off. "Sakura is partial to Windy for some reason."

            "It's because she has a Wind personality," Hermione said, looking at her book again. "She's powerful, but semi-dense when it comes to a lot of things. Your basic blonde, without the blonde hair."

            "Hey!" Syaoran protested. 

            "He, on the other hand, has a Thunder personality, which is why he's partial to the Lightning Dragon talismon," Hermione pointed to Syaoran. "He seems cool on the surface, but he actually has a real hot temper." I giggled as Syaoran's face heated up. It was true.

            "Clow also had a Wind personality," Hermione said, pointing to her book. "He also had the tiniest scratch of Flower personality inside him, too. Most people have several different elemental personalities. Of course, not many people have Flower."    

            "What's Flower?" I asked, looking over her shoulder.

            "Love of unpredictability and creative methods," Hermione answered.

            "Well, that describes him perfectly, then," I said. "He's definitely weird."

            "He once said that the reason he created the Clow Cards was because he was bored," Hermione said gravely. "It says that he was and still is considered to be the most powerful wizard ever to have lived. Even over You-Know-Who and Dumbledore."

            "Never thought I'd hear that," I muttered.

***

            Hermione and I decided it would probably be best just to ignore Harry and Ron. We sat as far away from them as we could and didn't talk to them all morning. Today was the last of September and soon we would be moving into October. Autumn was my favorite season of the year, and the gorgeous orange, red, and brown leaves in the Forbidden Forest didn't let me down. I couldn't enjoy them half as much as I usually did now.

            Classes moved on, as they have to. We were trying to change stones into rubber balls in Transfiguration. In Herbology, we were learning about the different medicinal herbs that were common throughout the magical world. History of Magic was as long and droning as before, even as we moved on into the early 1900s.

            Eriol was now teaching us how to write talismons and fill them with magic of both the moon, the sun, and our own "star", which he helped point out in the night sky during one lesson. Charms had finally moved on into some actual spells, and we were learning how to create light.

            Defense Against the Dark Arts was just as uninformative as ever. Potions was just as horrid as ever. 

            About a week after our encounter with Fluffy the three-headed dog, I received a large parcel. Sakura headed up several barn owls, she bearing three letters herself. The parcel landed on the floor behind me. A few nanoseconds after my parcel landed, four screech owls came in carrying a second large parcel, this one for Harry. Only one letter accompanied his.

            "What on Earth?" I said. I opened one of the letters and balked.

            _Dear Angel,_

_            We heard about your new position on the Quidditch team. Congratulations! In celebration, your brother said it would be a good idea to buy you a new broom. Isn't that nice? We've got to go! Enjoy your new broom. Ask your friend to take a picture of you after your first game and send it to us!_

_            A bit of bad news here for you, though. We're beginning to think David's a Squib, too. He hasn't shown any of the classical wizard signs yet, and it's getting late in the game. Cross your fingers that he does soon!_

_                                                      Love, Mom and Dad_

            I opened the second, with many mixed feelings.

            _One of your Professors told us, Sissy. So I sent you an early Christmas present! What do you think? I want your old one, though, okay? ^_~_

And the third.

            _I informed your parents of the agreement. They sent you a newer, faster broomstick model. Please do NOT open the parcel at the table, or they'll all want one. I think it's the same model I got for Harry. Please meet Wood at six-thirty out on the Quidditch field._

_                              Professor M. McGonagall_

            "My parents bought me a new one?" I blinked to myself. We weren't exactly the best-off family in the world. Sure, we got a thousand dollars from the US Government once a year and 33, 000 dollars from dad's job, but that wasn't reason to go completely loopy with money. 

            "A new what?" Hermione looked at the parcel. "It's enormous. What is it?"

            "Can't tell ya at the table," I shook my head. "Come on, we'll open it in my room."

            In the Tower, Hermione and I opened the parcel. It was a Nimbus Two Thousand, which was, according to _Quidditch Through the Ages_ (an up-to-date book on Quidditch), the best model on the market. It was built for speed and built for _power_. And it was packaged in, not Styrofoam peanuts, but candy. Under the broom handle were four cans of soda.

            "Good Lord, do they think I can't survive without candy?" I said, laughing at the sight. It was pretty funny.

            "This is a really good broomstick, Angel," Hermione said. "You'd better hide it."

            I nodded and packed the broomstick back into the candy. Using the box to conceal it, I used an Invisibility Charm and put the box firmly under my bed. 

            That night, I pulled the broom back out of its Charmed box. Hermione said she would go ahead and do the night's homework and then wait for me in the dreamscape. Broom in hand and a grin on my face, I headed out onto the first real Quidditch pitch I had ever seen.

            The sun was setting, but the pure beauty of the red leaves against a pink sunset was awe-inspiring. There was lights set up around the pitch, which came on and illuminated the six ghostly fifty-foot hoops and the graying green grass. The stands were raised around the pitch, in alternating colors of red and gold for Griffindor and blue and silver for Ravenclaw. I expect that those were the last two teams to play last year.

            Mounting the new broom, I kicked off from the ground. It was much steadier than the old school broom, and it was more responsive that my Cleansweep 7 ever was. The lightest touch in either direction took me there without difficulty. With a whoop, I took off into the air as fast as a falcon and as lean as the lion of my House. 

            A roller coaster was all I can say to describe the feeling. Going at least sixty miles an hour on a broom, feeling the wind whip around me. The half-ponytail I'd had my hair in fell out and my brown hair gave in to the passing gales.

            "Hey, Indigo, come down here!" Wood shouted up to me. I saw him and came in for a light but speedy landing. I stayed on my broom and hovered in front of him a moment.

            "Aw, you're no fun, Wood," I grinned. "This is my first time on such a good broom."

            "You're a natural, McGonagall was right," Wood said. "Get down. George and Fred said that you knew the basic rules for Quidditch, but I wanted to make sure. You're going to be our back-up player, in case anyone falls out. That means you'll need to know how to play in each position."

            "Cool," I nodded. 

            Wood showed me some moves that were and were not allowed on the field in each position. He ducked and dove out of the way of my Bludgers and I did the same for his. I sent the Quaffle back at him when I caught it and went after it when I didn't. I tried to get the Quaffle past him and only did once. Finding the Golden Snitch turned out to be a real mess for me, because my eyes just could not find the tiny flash of gold and white. That seemed to be the only position, besides Keeper, that I really hoped I wouldn't have to take over. 

            However, I turned out to be an excellent Beater.

            "Even the Weasley twins can't hit that hard," Wood said, so enthusiastic that I had to stop him.

            "Wood, I don't want to take over their position unless they're put out of commission on their own accord," I warned him. "The Weasleys are my host family, and I've already gotten into it too deep with Ron. I don't think that boy likes me very much. Anyway, I don't want Fred and George bitter with me, too."

            "With all the pranks they pull, I'm surprised we haven't been looking for new Beaters on the first up team, too," Wood said, rolling his eyes. "When Charlie left last year, I didn't know what we were going to do."

            "Well, now you do," I said, smiling. "Although I think that it may be Harry you're worrying about next."

            "Why's that?"

            "Uh…never mind," I said quickly. "Let's go inside, I'm tired."

            "Indigo…" Wood warned me.

            "Really, it's nothing, it was a joke, you know, ha ha?" I said nervously. 

            "Ho ho," Wood added. 

***

Your clue again on who Eriol is: he's very dear to Sakura. If I do get published, I'll be sure and tell everyone! I want everyone to buy it if I do. ^_^


	10. Fight

The fight is actually something of a reality thing. Me and me bro fight like that all the time. (Matthew, not David).

Quote: "Stop, stop, stop. You're going to put someone's eye out." –Hermione

Jaded Angels and Silken Blossoms 

Chapter 10: Fight

***

            Three days a week now we had Quidditch practice, something that I looked forward to. As it originally had been our homework time together (4 o'clock), Hermione and I decided to meet each afternoon at five in the library to do our homework together. 

            As our time at Hogwarts drew on, so did my dread at having to choose people from Ravenclaw and Slytherin to go on the Japan trip. Actually, I was having trouble choosing people from Griffindor, too. Hermione was about the only one I was sure was going with Eriol and I.

            When I voiced my concerns to Eriol Halloween morning before class (about five minutes), he smiled and patted me on the head like a cat. I felt like a little girl when he did that. 

            "Don't worry your beautiful little head about it," he said. "You'll find them. I know you will." His pretty blue eyes gave a twinkle as he turned away.

            That was all he said to me.

            In all of the business of schoolwork and homework and Quidditch practice, Hermione and I barely got to see each other during the day. And with Syaoran's lessons in Eastern Magic growing even more complex as we grew stronger, we hardly had time to talk at night, either. We were both a bit testy that day from a long night's dueling with water and fire and wind and wood. I had just had a Quidditch practice night combined with a day with Snape and Draco _and_ our astronomy class. I still hadn't finished one of the essays that were due right after lunch.

            In Professor Flitwick's class, we were finally learning how to make objects levitate, or fly. We'd been practicing different wrist movements all week, and had been told to practice them at night as well. I had done so dutifully, even though I'd memorized them all in Molly's care, until midnight the night before. I was tired, and Syaoran had kept us later because of my tardiness, so I was hungry, too.

            "Now, I will pair you up," said Flitwick, coming down the aisles. "Ms. Granger and Mr. Weasley…Ms. Indigo and Mr. Potter…Mr. Finnigan and Mr. Longbottom…"

            Great. Just peachy. Now I had to put up with Harry. Why me? I took some satisfaction in seeing that he wasn't too pleased, either. Actually, Hermione didn't seem too pleased with it, and neither did Ron. Although I really cared for Hermione, I felt a tiny little scrap of satisfaction in knowing she was just as miserable as I was.

            When we were given our feathers to levitate, I gestured politely to let Harry give a try first. Hermione also let Ron do the same.

            "_Wingardium Leviosa_," said Harry, swinging his wand much too slow and much too wide. The feather turned over on the table. "Come on, you stupid feather, fly! _Wingardium Leviosa_!" Again, the feather flopped. He raised his wand higher, above his head, and looked like he was going to strike the feather with it.

            "Stop!" I said, grabbing his hand. "You're on a warpath over nothing, just stop. Now, watch. _Wingardium Leviosa_." The feather floated up high in the air.

            "Oh, look, everyone, Miss Indigo and Miss Granger have done it!" In my attempt at showing Harry how to use the spell, Hermione had also been yelling at Ron about his show of wind milling his arms while holding a wand. They exchanged a disgusted look. Ron just lay his head down on the table, but Harry reached up and grabbed the feather I was levitating, bringing it back down by force. I broke my spell and stared at him.

            "You do know that you could have gotten severely hurt, don't you?" I said. "If you just grab a levitating object, it may react to the magical barriers that I filled inside it. You could be killed if you grab the wrong magician's object!"

            "Really? Where'd you read that one, _Magic for Dummies_?" Harry snarled, sitting back in his seat.

            "For your information, it was in _Simple Wand Safety_, thank you very much," Hermione said from the other side of Ron. "No one bothers with it anymore because they actually _expect_ you to be smart enough to figure it out!"

            "Are you calling us stupid?" Ron growled.

            "If the shoe fits!" Hermione snapped.

            "Then you just called her an idiot, too, since she had to read it to 'figure it out'," Harry jerked his thumb in my face. 

            "Yeah!" Ron said.

            The bell rang.

            "Can you believe those two?!" I said when Hermione and I were out of earshot. "We try to help them, and this is the thanks we get."

            "You're one to talk," Hermione said, her face straight forward. "I helped you with your homework last night, but when I asked for your help on the History of Magic homework, you said you had Quidditch practice. You didn't even offer to let me use your notes!"

            "Hey!" I protested. "That's not fair, Hermione, I've helped you out a lot."         

            "What? Like trying to beat me in the number of Griffindor points we get? Like trying to beat me in how many books we read? Like trying to take my claim to the best Griffindor in Potions?" Hermione shouted. "I'm sick of it! You try to force everything so that you're number one."

            "What?!" I shouted. She knew perfectly well I had to try my best! "You're the one who's trying to beat _me_ out. Everything I do isn't good enough for you, is it? I'm better on a broomstick, so you're mad at me. That's it, isn't it?!"

            "No! I'd rather not ride a broomstick around, trying to take some silly little ball just so everyone can gape at my wondrous abilities. I'm sick of it!"

            "I'm sick of you!" I shouted.

            "There's something we can agree on," Hermione snapped and took an about-face. She stalked off, her bag making a huge racket as she did so.

            Then it hit me. I had just fought with my best friend, the closest friend I'd ever made. She was mad at me for trying to beat her out. She was mad because I was on the Quidditch team. She was sick of me. Sick of my face, my voice, everything.

            I didn't know what to do. The halls cleared out as the bell rang for class. I couldn't go to class and face her. I couldn't. I just couldn't face her. Footsteps rang out in the hallway. There was only one person who roamed the halls after class had started. Filch!

            I ran. I ran and ran and ran and ran some more. Finally, I found the girl's restroom and slowed to a jog. I opened the door, jogged to the end stall, sat on the toilet seat, and cried. I cried and cried, and I didn't realize the time of day. I didn't care. I didn't care what was going to happen if anyone found me.

            I didn't care. The tears kept coming. I became dehydrated and the world around me became a blur. Seated on the toilet seat on the first floor of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry on a Halloween afternoon, my bad beside me, I fell asleep.

            The blank white void appeared. I conjured up my bedroom, my bedroom at home. I held my wolf pillow, my pillow, and cried silent tears again. My stomach growled again, and I conjured up my favorite spaghetti dinner, something that I loved so much.

            Then I threw it across the room. The plate shattered into a million pieces against the sea foam green wall. How could I think of eating when my best friend was no longer my best friend? I hiccupped and conjured up some spring water. The tears, fresh and new, returned in full force. I sobbed and they raked my body like wet leaves on a December morning.

            "I take it something bad happened," said Syaoran. "I fell asleep in class again."

            "Go back to class," I muttered, hiccupping again. "Or I'll throw one at you 'stead o' the wall."

            "What's wrong, Angel?" he asked, sitting down on my bed. "You miss your family?"

            "Tha' ain't it," I shook my head wildly. I conjured away my robes and replaced them with blue jeans and a T-shirt. 

            "Then what is?"

            "Ain't none o' your business, jus' git back ta class," I said, staring at the pictures of my wolves and tigers.

            "This is a nice room," Syaoran said, looking around. "Yours?"

            "Back home," I said, hiccupping again. "Go on, then. You're class more important than anything o' mine."

            "Not when you cry so hard you fell asleep," Syaoran said. "Come on, Angel. I'm right here." A sudden loud crashing interrupted my answer.

            "I dunno what's going on," I said. "But I git the feelin' I betta wake up. See ya!"

            My vision swam for an instant, but I saw what had woken me up almost immediately. It was a mountain troll. What the hell was a mountain troll doing in the girl's bathroom?

            "Angel, thank goodness, I thought you were dead!" I heard Hermione's voice on the other side of the bathroom. There were two rows of stalls, you see. And unless you shouted really, really loud, no one can hear you in the place. 

            "Hermione! Angel! Are you girls in here?" I heard Ron and Harry shout into the room. The troll took another swipe at the stalls in which I was seated, and I dove out of the way as the toilet I was seated on burst into a thousand porcelain pieces.

            "We're in here!" I yelled. "Whoa!" The troll had taken a swipe at me again, leaving the sink I had stood in front of moments ago in pieces, just like the toilet.          

            "Hey!" Hermione shouted. "Hey, ugly! Over here, you dumb, overgrown git!" She banged her hand against the stalls and drew the troll away from me.

            "Hermione, run!" I shouted. She ran, all right, right into a corner. The troll was just about to strike again when Harry started yelling at it, too. Stupid as most trolls are, it went after Harry. Harry did not escape as Hermione and I had. Harry was dangling upside down in a very precarious situation. The troll tried to strike him with the club it carried, but Harry ducked out of the way.

            "Do something!" Harry yelled.

            "What should we do?!" Ron asked.

            "Anything!" Harry panicked. The troll took another strike at him and he ducked. Think! What can I do to help Harry?

            "What can we do?" Ron asked me.

            "I dunno!" I shouted. "My mind's blank! Hermione?"

            "No clue!"

            "Do something!" Harry repeated. "Anything!!!"

            "_Tripularo Cantisto_!" I tried, pointing my wand at the troll's feet. He fell over backwards, but kept his grip on Harry. The troll's foot landed on my right leg, and I heard a sickening snapping noise as a thousand different needles shot into my leg at once.

            "ARGH!!!" I screamed, and the tears returned. Not tears of sadness, but tears of absolute pain, a pain I had never known before. The troll stepped off, letting the blood rush back into my feet, making it feel, if at all possible, worse. I whimpered, gripping what was left of my right leg in my hands. I huddled over it, trying to catch enough breath to perhaps let up the pain, but to no avail.

            "Swish and flick!" Hermione said to Ron. He nodded. It was then that I saw that Hermione did not have her wand. It had been cast aside against the wall on the other end of the bathroom, inside her bag. 

            "_Wingardium Leviosa_!" Ron shouted, and the troll's club flew into the air and hovered inches above its head. Harry managed to free one of his feet. Ron let the club fall directly onto the troll's head and the walls came tumbling down. Well, the troll did, anyway. Harry managed to swing out of the troll's limper fingers and land unsteadily on his feet. So unsteadily, in fact, that he fell over on his butt.

            The troll's sheer weight shook the walls for several seconds after the dust had settled, but anyone could see that the troll had been knocked out. Hermione ran to her bag and threw it over her shoulder, pulling out her wand and leveling it at the troll in case it woke up. She then ran back over to me. 

            "Angel, I am _so sorry_," she said. "I didn't mean a word of it, honestly."

            Several pounding footsteps rushed into the bathroom and came upon four soaked eleven-year-olds and one KOed  troll. However, the teachers weren't exactly pleased with us.

            "E-Explain yourselves!" Professor McGonagall stuttered as she looked on the scene. "Why aren't you in the dormitories? Oh! Miss Indigo, are you all right?"

            "Nah, jus' a coupla broken bones, nay, I'm jus' peachy," I grinned lopsidedly, but it turned into a wince. Snape looked like he had just gotten the rest of the year on holiday to Hawaii.

            "We need to get you up to the hospital wing," she rushed over. "But don't think any of you are off the hook. We'll get this sorted out as soon as Madam Pomfrey has mended your bones. Ms. Granger, might I have your help?" Hermione came over and lifted me up by my right arm while Professor McGonagall took my left. The blood rushed to my leg and the pain became unbearable. 

            "Severus, Professor Quirrell, please handle the troll," said McGonagall. I didn't remember much more, because as soon as she had transfigured a splint from a shard of the toilet seat, I had blacked out.

            I came to in the hospital wing, where Madam Pomfrey told me that the others were waiting. They had apparently been waiting for my arrival, because the second I did, Professor McGonagall wanted some answers.

            "What were you four _doing_ in there?" she asked sharply. "You could have been killed!"

            "It was my fault, Professor," Hermione lied through her two front teeth. "I thought I could take on the troll, because I'd read about them, you see. Harry and Ron and Angel came to rescue me after it threw my bag against the wall. If they hadn't come, I'd probably be dead."

            I may never forget this. Hermione almost never lies, and to a teacher, I think this was probably the first time. She was laying the entirety of the blame on herself, even though she knew it had really been none of our fault to begin with. How were we going to explain my absence from my classes, though?

            "Well…in that case…" Professor McGonagall's mouth wasn't the only one that was hanging open. "Hermione, you were very foolish. How could you think you could take on a fully-grown mountain troll?" Hermione hung her head. "Five points will be taken from Griffindor for your serious lax in judgment."

            Hermione nodded.

            "Go on up to the Tower. The Houses are finishing up their feasts up there."

            She left.

            "You're all very lucky," said Professor McGonagall. "Not many first years could take on a mountain troll and live to tell the tale. Five points will be awarded for each of you. For sheer dumb luck. And consider yourself _very_ lucky it was only a broken leg, Miss Indigo."

            We all nodded.

            Harry, Ron, and I made our way upstairs. We were silent in our trek. When we reached the Tower, everyone was there. Standing silently in the doorway was Hermione. She stepped out of the din of things and looked at us all.

            "Thanks," we all said at once. And we were forever friends.

***

I couldn't think of a better way to get them all together. Sorry for my lack of creativeness. So, have you figured out who Eriol really is? Here's another clue: he's related to Sakura, Eriol, and Syaoran.


	11. Fallen Bells and Bucking Broom

Thanks again to Darknesswithinonesheart! Sorry this chapter is so short, I'll make up for it in the next one!

Quote: "Candy fuels the brain for but a short time. It's the sugar rush everyone craves!" –David

Disclaimer: Don't own them. Please don't hurt me!

Jaded Angels and Silken Blossoms 

Chapter 11: Fallen Bells and Bucking Broom

***

            Our magical training intensified. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and I exchanged information that we had been after, all four of us. 

            Hermione and I found out about the wizard newspaper, the _Daily Prophet_, and I ordered a year's subscription to it. (It was a Galleon for three hundred sixty- five newspapers. Who wouldn't?) We also found out about the Gringotts break-ins and Harry and Ron's quest to find out what was in the little grubby package of vault 713. Hermione and I told them about the trapdoor, and we connected the dots.

            But what could possibly need so much protection?

            As we entered November, the cold began to get to me. I love winter because, no matter what, you can always put on more clothes. My brother continued sending us candy and soda, and pretty soon, we began asking for our favorites. Harry loved strawberry soda and I don't think Ron could live without a can of Dr. Pepper once a week. Hermione asked for Sprite, and I asked for cream soda. We all wanted Chocolate Frogs.

            Quidditch practice intensified that last Friday morning. Although I wouldn't be replacing anyone, even I had to train extra hard. Wood wanted me to become a better Seeker for some strange reason. While he, Alicia, Katie, and Angelina practiced Chaser moves and Fred and George batted a baseball back and forth (Wood didn't want anyone to get hurt), Harry and I dove for the Snitch. Harry got to it before me every time. 

            "I don't get it!" I said. "How can you possibly see that little thing so far away?" 

            "Just good instincts, I think," Harry shrugged. "Go again." He released it and it flitted around his head once before disappearing again. Harry was still looking all over for it when I caught the little speck of gold light in my sights. I dove for it, using all the speed that my Nimbus had in her. I reached out for the Snitch and almost caught it. Then it flitted out of my reach and I pulled to a stop. A quick glance around showed me that Harry had once again caught it.

            "Even when I see the darn thing first, he beats me!" I shouted. "You betta not eva get hurt, 'Arry Potter, or I might not be able to win that Cup."

            "Don't worry, I won't," he grinned.

            At lunch, we stood out in the courtyard. Hermione and I had conjured up a jam jar and a blue fire to keep warm. We saw Snape crossing the courtyard, and wouldn't you know it, he stopped right in front of us.

            "What's that, Potter?" he asked, pointing to the book Hermione had leant him from the library. It was _Quidditch Through The Ages_.

            When Harry showed him, he made up some rule about library books outside of school and took the book from him.

            "He was limping," Harry said.

            "Too bad he wasn't in a wheelchair," I said moodily. "He's got no right to treat us so, no right at all, I tell ya."

            Harry decided to go back and get his book that night, while we were doing our homework. When he returned, out of breath and barely able to speak, he told us exactly _why_ Snape had been limping.

            "He went after that dog!" Harry exclaimed. "And I bet _he_ let the troll in!"

            "No…he couldn't have. He's a teacher, why would he want to steal something Dumbledore was keeping safe?" Hermione asked. However, the vibes I was getting off of Snape and what the troll had done to me won me over to Harry's side.

            "I wouldn't put nothing past that man, 'Mione," I said. "He's bad news, teacher or no."

            The next morning, I woke bright and early, six o'clock sharp once again. After Syaoran had finally consented, Hermione, Sakura, he, and I played a reduced Quidditch game for the practice. Hermione and I were the Seekers and Sakura and Syaoran were the Chasers. We played kind of like half-court basketball, but it was good practice.

            At least, I actually caught the darn Snitch.

            I was glad that no one had gotten hurt since yesterday. I was still going to walk out onto the field with the others in our Quidditch robes. There was a special area behind the announcer's box in which the "extra players" were told to sit. Since I was the only one (Slytherin team was _constantly _changing people, as Wood had put it), I was quite comfortably seated with an excellent view. Professor McGonagall and Lee Jordan, the Weasley twin's friend, were the only other people.

            "_Sonorous_," said Jordan, pointing his wand to his throat. 

            Wood had already given a good long speech to the entire team before sending me up to the announcements stand. He had told me plainly that if anyone was hurt or grew ill to promptly fly out and take their place.

            "Good afternoon, Hogwarts, and welcome to the first Quidditch game of the season!" shouted Jordan. He needn't have, though, because the spell he had performed had magnified his voice to fill the stadium. "Today, we have Griffindor vs. Slytherin, and here comes Griffindor with their new Seeker, Harry Potter. Also new to the team is their extra, Angel Indigo, who is seated right behind me. She's ready, I'm willing to bet, to rush out there if something goes wrong. But we all know it won't, right, Professor?" McGonagall had been giving him a glare that would have reduced him to a pile of ashes had she had heat vision.

            "And they're off!" shouted Jordan. I watched the game commence and filtered out Lee Jordan's voice. Katie, Alicia, and Angelina were absolutely awesome, flying with the Quaffle in hand, passing it to keep it just out of the green robed hands. Fred and George sent several Bludgers at the Slytherin Chasers, and nearly knocked one of the Slytherin Beaters off of their broom.

            Wood blocked anything that came his way. Harry was flying over the entire game, and the Slytherin Seeker was watching him warily. 

            "Was that the Snitch?" Jordan said.

            Harry dove. He must have seen the Snitch! But Marcus Flint, Captain and Chaser on the Griffindor Side, struck Harry broadside. I stood up and watched carefully as Harry nodded and said he was fine. I sat back down again as Alicia took the penalty shot. The Griffindors were still shouting, "foul!" as the game intensified. 

            Katie made her way toward the Slytherin goal with the Quaffle tucked carefully under her arm. She was almost there when Flint took another broadside chance against her. Even from here, I could see her hands loosening, her eyes rolling back in her head, and her grip on her broom letting up. She was knocked out cold. 

            And apparently no one noticed, because suddenly, Harry's broom started bucking wildly.

            "Something appears to be wrong with Potter's broom," said Jordan. Katie plummeted. I took action.

            "Miss Indigo—"

            I didn't stop to hear what McGonagall had to say. Katie fell down, down, down, and I dove after her.

            "It seems Bell has fallen from her broom!" shouted Jordan. "Indigo has taken action and is trying to catch her before she falls to her death!" The crowd was now silent. Harry's broom stopped bucking. You could hear a pin drop on the pitch as I dove faster. Katie was just about to hit the ground when I caught her.

            A roar of relief went up from the crowd as I took her up and flew back up to the announcer stand.

            "Bell has been knocked out by Flint's devious cheating. Wood is signaling for a time-out and has made his way toward us at this time. Professor, what do you make of this?"

            "Bell? Bell, are you all right?" Wood shook her should, but she did not wake. 

            "Flint went after her while everyone was watching Harry's broom," I said. "Speaking of which, it started back up again. What on Earth is going on?"

            "I don't know, Miss Indigo, but there isn't much we can do about it," said McGonagall. "If someone in the crowd is jinxing the broom, we can't find them. There are too many people."

            "And we can't stop the game," said Wood. "Indigo, you're in. Can you take care of Bell, Professor?"

            "No trouble at all," said McGonagall.

            "And it is decided!" shouted Jordan. "Since Bell has been knocked out of commission by an open display of foul fouling, Indigo will replace her as the third Chaser of the Griffindor team!"

            The crowd cheered, but I heard none of it. I was going to concentrate and do my best to win this game for Griffindor. We could still win by points if the Snitch was caught by the Slytherins, if we got a good enough lead.

            "Sure you're up to it, Indigo?" asked Alicia.

            "I'm good," I said. "Let's just get ahead. I think Harry's got control of his broom again." And so he had. I caught a quick glimpse of Hermione running back to the stand where she, Hagrid, and Ron were sitting, but paid it no attention.

            Since Katie had had the Quaffle, I was given possession of it. The red ball tucked tightly under my arm, we retook our positions on the field. With a whistle from Madam Hooch, we were off again. Ducking a Bludger and Flint, I saw that Angelina was open. I threw the Quaffle and she caught it. The Keeper couldn't get to it in time. We scored.

            He threw it back out to Flint, who grinned maliciously and headed back toward Oliver. Fred shot a Bludger at him, knocking the Quaffle from his hands, which Alicia caught. She threw it to me, and I turned around. The Keeper was headed for the ring I was at, but too late. I threw it through and we had another ten points. 

            Harry dove. Slytherin had the Quaffle again. Alicia stole it. Harry flew faster. Alicia passed the Quaffle to Angelina and Angelina passed it to me. The Keeper was in front of the ring I was. Angelina was near the far end. I faked a pass to her, and he fell for it. Harry was pulled up. I threw. Harry's hand stretched out.

            "GRIFFINDOR SCORES!" 

            Harry caught the Snitch.       

            "He has the Snitch! He has the Snitch! Griffindor wins! Two hundred points to sixty!" Jordan was yelling. We all flew down to Harry and congratulated him. Wood, who was still flying down, jumped from his broom and hugged him. Then he kissed me on the cheek. I was blushing, but I was more worried about Katie.

            "GO GRIFFINDOR!" shouted the crowd. I flew back up to the announcements tower and saw that Katie was finally waking up.

            "What happened?" she asked groggily. "Did we win?"

            "Yup," I grinned. "We won. Flint knocked you out, so I had to take over."

            She smiled wearily. "Cool."

***

            Hermione and Ron came down, followed by Hagrid. I still hadn't had the chance to get to know him all that well, although Hermione had. The crowd was still cheering as Harry and Ron and Hagrid led the way to the little cabin on the grounds.

            "It was Snape," Ron explained. "We saw him! He was jinxing Harry's broom."

            "What were you doing, Hermione?" I asked. 

            "I set fire to his robes," she answered. 

            "It's rubbish!" Hagrid said. "Why would Snape do somethin' like that?"

            We all exchanged looks. Then Harry explained to him all that we already knew.

            "How'd you find out about Fluffy?" Hagrid asked.

            "Fluffy?" Ron grimaced.

            "Yeah, didn't you see the bowl?" I asked. "It said Fluffy on it."

            "Yeah, he's mine," Hagrid explained. "Bought him off a Greek chappie I met down at the pub las' year…let Dumbledore borrow him to guard the—"

            "What?" I asked eagerly.

            "I already tol' ye too much," muttered Hagrid. "Yer meddlin' in things that ought not to be meddled with. You forget what Fluffy's guarding, that's between Dumbledore and Nicolas Flamel—"  
            "So it's got something to do with Flamel?" I asked. "Who's Flamel?"

            Hagrid looked furious with himself.

            "You guys were right," I said as we left. "He _is _a nice guy."

***

Hmm….I'm not sure what other clues I can give you, other than what I have. Not without giving it away, I think. Hmm…let's see…he would prolly have told Sakura that he wouldn't see her for a long time…


	12. Team Assembled

Here you go, the trip will soon commence!

Quote: "The only explanation is that Clow may have done something before he died…his magic _was_ pretty incredible…he might have been able to cast a spell that would work after he died." –Kero

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry or Sakura. 

Jaded Angels and Silken Blossoms 

Chapter 12: Team Assembled

***

            Mid-December, I started to panic. Professor McGonagall had already come around to ask for the students' names who would be staying over the Christmas break. Hermione, who had been planning to go home for Christmas, stayed over when she heard that she was on the top of my list to go to Japan. In fact, I had the Griffindors all sorted out already, and the Hufflepuffs. Now all I needed was a Ravenclaw and a Slytherin. 

            I didn't want to ask anyone who was already not going to be at Hogwarts to go on such a mission, so I decided to ask the Heads of the Houses if I could see the list of students staying over. My prospects of asking Snape were not my favorite. 

            Professor Flitwick was the Ravenclaw Head of House, and he quite gladly gave me the list. Not only that, but he gave me a few good suggestions.

            "You might want to ask this fine young man, Terry Boot," he said. "Terry is very bright and he is quite interested in Eastern Magic. Sunny Moon is also a good candidate, she is very friendly."

            "Thanks, Professor," I smiled. "I will ask them. What about the other one?" The last person on the list was a second year. There would only be three Ravenclaws.

            "Oh, didn't Professor Dumbledore tell you?" asked Flitwick. "He only wants you taking first years, like yourself. He said newer students would be better the take along."

            "No, he didn't tell me," I said. "Luckily, all my Griffindor candidates are first year. I think I'll ask Justin Finch-Fletchley for Hufflepuff."

            "Fine idea," said Flitwick, smiling again. "All bright young men and women. I think you're a fine leader, Ms. Indigo. Have you chosen anyone from Slytherin yet?"

            "Not quite," I said, frowning. "I'm going to see Professor Snape and ask to see his list. I don't want to ask anyone to give up Christmas with their families, you see."

            "Good, good," he nodded. "Snape is a bit harder to deal with than most, but I think you can handle him."

            That was promising.

            "Thank you, sir," I smiled. "Must be going, I have to talk to Professor Snape."

            "Of course. Both of those Ravenclaws will be in the library tonight at seven-thirty, by the way," he said. "They're normal study time, you know."

            "Thanks." I walked away.

***

            "Professor Snape?" I poked my head into his dungeon classroom. "Professor Snape, are you here?"

            "Yes, I am, what is it?" he said. His mouth was turned in a weird-looking smile.

            "Um…I needed to ask you about the list of students who are staying over Christmas," I said, my thumbs twirling nervously. "I'm afraid I don't know that many Slytherin students, and I need to find a first year who is going to be here, you see."

            "Yes…yes, you would," said Snape. Okay, he's being too nice. What is up with this picture? Something was wrong. "There is only one, I'm afraid. Blaise Zabini. I do believe…she's in the library at this moment."

            "Oh…um…thanks," I said. "Um…see you in class?"

            "Good day." 

            I walked the first few steps, but as soon as I was sure Snape wasn't going to hear, I started running as fast as my feet would carry me. Snape had been nice to me. _Nice_. What could it possibly mean? Why hadn't he bitten my head off, like he usually does?

            "There is definitely something _wrong_ with that man," I muttered as soon as I caught my breath. I was standing outside the library. 

            Walking in, I walked slowly around. I hoped I would find the Ravenclaws pretty easily, but instead I found Blaise. I remembered her from the Sorting very faintly. She was a timid-looking girl in glasses, with two black ponytails neatly tied with blue ribbons. 

            "Excuse me, are you Blaise Zabini?" I asked, just to make sure. I could easily have just gotten her switched around.

            "Yes, that's my name," she said. "You're that girl. Angel Indigo, am I right?"

            "Yes," I nodded. "Um…listen, you're staying over the Christmas break this year, right?"

            "Yes."

            "Would you like to come with Professor Eriol and I to Japan?" I asked.

            Her eyes went wide. "Certainly. But why me?"

            My face went a deep, deep shade of red. "I…I…um…"

            "You need a Slytherin to go?" she asked, smiling. "I understand. It will be an honor." She bowed and turned away. 

            "Thank you," I said. 

            "It's not a problem," she said, smiling again. "I've never been out of England. I think I'd rather enjoy it." And she left.

            I walked around and found the Ravenclaw study group pretty easily. 

            "E-Excuse me," I said. The six Ravenclaws looked up at. Five stared. One started talking.

            "Hello! I'm Sunny Moon. You're Angel Indigo, aren't you? I find it so, so cool that you're an exchange student. I've always wanted to try it, but they won't let me go anywhere." She pouted. She was a blond girl, chubby like I used to be. Unlike me, she seemed quite pretty, even though she was overweight.

            "Forgive her, she's a bit talkative," said one of the boys. "May we help you, Indigo?"

            "Um…yes," I said. "I was wondering…where Terry Boot was?"

            "That's me," said the boy. "Is it important?"

            "Semi," I said. "Erm…I was told you and Moon will be staying over the Christmas break?"

            "Yes," he nodded. One of the other girls smothered Sunny's response. "What of it?"

            "Would either of you be willing to go on a trip during that time?" I asked. 

            "Not me," Boot shook his head. "I'm staying here because I hate to travel."

            "I'd love to!" shouted Sunny. "Um…where are we going?"

            "I'll tell you when the time comes," I sighed in relief. I had my seven. Four Griffindors, and one each from Slytherin, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw. "Thank you all for your time." I walked away.

***

            "So you've decided?" Syaoran said.

            "Yeah," I said. "Hermione, Ron, Harry, Neville, Blaise, Justin, and Sunny."

            "I still don't understand why you're taking Neville," Hermione said.

            "Well…" I shrugged. "He's a good kid, just not as strong as usual."

            "Isn't Neville in your House?" Syaoran asked.

            "Yeah, why?"

            "I think something's going to happen," said Syaoran. "Remember? In the dream, there were only _three_ others with red crests. Two had green."

            "But that would mean…" I murmured. "Something's going to happen to one of my Griffindors. And I'll have to choose a Slytherin. That doesn't make any sense at all, why would I choose a Slytherin? And besides, Blaise was the _only_ Slytherin staying over Christmas."

            "It is strange, though," Syaoran said. "There have been too many coincidences for my liking."

            "So where's Sakura?" Hermione asked.

            "Still trying to get her magic power up," Syaoran sighed.

***

            The day before holidays were to start, I found out just what that something was. Neville had been bitten by a jiggernaut. Jiggernauts are tiny little creatures that bury into your skin like ticks, only instead of just staying on the surface, the sneak into the stomach like a tapeworm and live there. 

            According to Madam Pomfrey, they don't cause much harm at first, but if they didn't remove the thing as soon as possible, Neville would die. And doubly unfortunately, it's very hard to get a jiggernaut out once it's in the stomach.

            This was at the precise time that the carriages made especially for students to get to Hogsmeade arrived to take the students home for Christmas. Draco stopped in the hospital wing to say a few nasty words about Neville, but I stopped him short.

            "Draco, I need your help," I said.

            "What, now the little half-ling needs my help?" Draco said. "I don't think so."

            "Please, I'm desperate!" I pleaded. "Please, Draco, please, just do your stupid little act again and act like the cousin I knew before! Please!"

            "What's so important?" he asked. "That you need me?"

            "I need another Slytherin for the trip to Japan, Draco," I confessed. "Please, do it for me, please?"

            "Japan?" Draco's eyes went wide. Then they suddenly went slender again. "Sure, I'll go with you. On one condition."

            "Name it," I said.

            "Keep the mudblood away from me," and he turned around and stalked off. What had I done?

***

            "You got _who_ to go with us?!" Hermione said. "Malfoy? Why?"

            "I was desperate, guys," I said. My head was in my hands. "He was the only first year left in the whole school besides Boot, and he doesn't want to go."

            "But _Malfoy_?" Ron's mouth hung open. "I would have put in a plea to Dumbledore to let Fred and George come instead!"

            "Or Heather," Hermione added.

            "I know, I _know_!" I whimpered, squeezing my head. "I wasn't thinking!"

            "We leave tomorrow," Ron said. "We'll just all ignore him. All right?"

            "Agreed. We ignore him," said Harry.

            "Yeah. Ignore him," Hermione murmured.

***

            That night, Hermione and I packed our things up for the two-week long trip. Eriol had told us all to pack lightly, including Draco, Blaise, Justin, Sunny, Harry, and Ron. He said to only pack what we could carry easily. I had my school bag, which was actually a Muggle book-bag, for a carry-on and a small suitcase for clothes. 

            "How will we get there?" Hermione asked, blinking for a moment.

            "I dunno," I said. I put three sets of Muggle clothes into my suitcase (all blue jeans and T-shirts), along with socks, underwear, and an extra pair of shoes. Then I started putting essentials in as well. "Probably by Muggle transportation. I doubt we'll be flying a broomstick all the way to Japan. That's further than I flew to get here, and that in itself was exhausting."

            "A boat?" Hermione said, packing a book she'd gotten from David in her bag.

            "Airplane, I'd wager," I said, zipping up the suitcase. Inside my carry-on, I put a book, a camera, and all of the essentials, which included some of the candy David had been sending. "Actually, if we went by boat, we'd get flipped out on the way over. If we went by sea, we'd take a ship."

            "What's the difference?" Hermione asked.

            "You know, for how smart you are, you don't know much about the ocean, do you?" I said. "I mean, when I told you about the dolphins I saw, you asked what they looked like!"

            "I don't like the ocean."        

            "_What_?! You're joking!" My eyes were wider than David's had been when Draco told him he'd never played Playstation. "The ocean is a beautiful place!"

            "It's scary to me," Hermione shivered.

            "If I can, I'll teach you that the ocean is not scary," I said, sitting down next to her. We were the only people in the Griffindor Tower besides the Weasley brothers and Harry. Neville was still in the hospital wing. I felt bad about him, now that I had time to think. In my panic over my dilemma, I had neglected to feel sorry for him. 

            I curled up in my bed, leaving the curtain facing Hermione's bed open. "By the way, a ship can hold a boat."

            "Cool," Hermione yawned. "Let's go to sleep."

            "See ya soon," I murmured.

***

Just a little trivia-type thing there, about the boats and ships. Why is Snape acting so strange? I know why, but it won't come up for another while. ^___^ Hmm…Eriol knows a lot about ancient stuff! How's that for a clue? Hmm?


	13. Departure

Another one, yea!

Quote: "I fear I might make things difficult for you…" –Clow Reed

Disclaimer: DO I GOTTA KEEP SAYIN' IT!? I DON'T OWN 'EM!

Jaded Angels and Silken Blossoms 

Chapter 13: Departure

            "Good morning, everyone," I said as I carried my pack and suitcase. Since there were very few people left at Hogwarts for the holidays, there were only two breakfast tables. One for those staying at Hogwarts and one for those leaving it. 

            Eriol smiled at me broadly when he saw the team I had collaborated.

            "You've made excellent choices, Angel, I'm very proud of you," he said. "Now, I'm sure some of you are wondering why you're here. Our mission is simple; to find as many people with magic in them as possible. Our destination is Japan. We're headed for the small town of Tomoeda, the central hub of magical runoff in Japan. There is no magical government in Japan, and our duty is to educate and establish a magical community in the country."

            "We're helping them build a Western magic government?" Justin blinked twice. "Shouldn't we try and find the more powerful Eastern magical people?"

            "Unfortunately, the magical community has no real learning center in Japan," Eriol said. "They are scattered and few, and even those with powerful magical potential have no idea what it is they can do. There are books to help them learn, of course, but they are here in England, printed by the old masters and forgotten by their families. The magical community in the East is dying and we are the only ones who can stop it."

            "We're saving them, then?" said Blaise. "Or gathering allies in the fight against Voldemort?"

            Several things happened at once at this comment. There were several quick gasps, followed by Ron falling off his seat and shouting about not saying his name. Hermione and I just looked at her keenly, uncertain. Justin yelped and followed Ron to the floor. Sunny looked around at everyone's reactions, looking, if possible, more clueless. Harry and Draco, though it seems impossible, had almost identical reactions; curiosity. Eriol just smiled.

            "Both, Blaise," Eriol said. "Unfortunately for the majority of the Western magical community, they are oblivious to the fact that Voldemort is still alive."

            Ron and Justin clambered back into their seats, both muttering about saying the name. Neither looked very pleased with themselves or Blaise or Eriol.

            "How do you know the Dark Lord is still alive?" Draco drawled. "My Father says that he died the night _he_ defeated him." He jerked his thumb toward Harry rudely and Eriol smiled.

            "No, no, I've a very keen sense for this sort of thing," he smiled at Harry. "Although quite weakened by your show, Harry, Voldemort is still alive. I was ten years old when he fell from power, and I'm glad for it.

            "Now, enough about that. We'll be leaving as soon as breakfast is over. The London International Airport is our destination," his blue eyes twinkled again. He was looking at me. Why? "We'll be taking what's called a 'jumping flight', so you'll all have to stick close. Especially those who have never taken an airplane before."

            "Great," I murmured. "A jumping flight. I hate those."  
            "Well, unfortunately, it's too far to fly on brooms, and a ship would take an eon to get there," he smiled, eating some sugared porridge. "And they haven't any Floo Powder passages, as those in the East don't even know what Floo Powder is. And we'd need a fireplace, which most places in Japan don't have. Now everyone eat up, then we'll be on our way."

            As soon as we had our fill of bacon, cheese, eggs, porridge, and sausages, the table cleared up on its own. Dumbledore came over from the other table, telling the other people to leave. It was only Fred, George, Percy, Heather, and Terry there, after all. Well, besides the teachers, who were all opted to stay.

            "This trip is very important," Dumbledore said, stressing every word. "If we are to have an Eastern magical world at all, this trip must be a success. Find as many ten-year-olds with magical ability as you possibly can. And Angel…let the Light guide you with the Dark. The Star will watch you." 

            "Huh?"

            "Just remember that," Dumbledore smiled. "And everyone, remember your own special spell of protection. I will speak it in Japanese, as you must all remember it in that language."

            We all paid immediate attention.

            "Daijoubu desu," he said. "It means 'I will be all right'."

***

            It seems that most everyone took Eriol literally, because there were only eighteen bags in all. I sent Sakura back to my parents, telling her to come the other way around the world if she needed to come see me. Harry asked me to send Hedwig with her, and I obliged. The only one with a pet who stayed with him was Ron, who carried Scabbers inside a pocket. 

            We all changed into Muggle clothes once we reached Hogsmeade station, where we would take a train to King's Cross Station. From King's Cross, we'd take a few taxi cabs to London International, where we would meet at Terminal 12B. Eriol separated us into twos and gave us specific instructions for when we reached the airport.

            Hermione and I were paired together, of course. Eriol stayed with Blaise and Draco, the only non-Muggle pair. Sunny and Justin were both Muggle-borns. Harry, though wizard-born, had been raised by his Muggle aunt and uncle. I had heard many unpleasant stories about Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon and his Cousin Dudley. I wondered if there was a conspiracy behind this whole rotten cousins bit, but brushed it off. This wasn't the time to ponder that.

            We got to the airport okay and all nine of us regrouped outside of Terminal 12B. Eriol was pleased to see that no one had bypassed any of his instructions and ushered us onto the Boeing 787, which would take us directly to Madrid, Spain. 

            "After we land in Madrid, we'll have an hour-long break," said Eriol. "I'll tell you the spell for language understanding then." 

            The trip from London, England, to Madrid, Spain, was a short one, only about forty-five minutes. After a bumpy landing, we got off and walked into a tea shop, where Eriol ordered a cup of tea for each of us. I really wondered how he knew that I liked strawberry tea with two lemons.

            "Now, the spell for language understanding is outside of the normal ancient Latin for most spells," said Eriol. "You point the wand to a normal beverage, and say _Todos Languas_, and then however the language is said in that particular language."

            He received stares.

            "It works very well, actually," said Eriol. "Watch, I'll do it for…Spanish. _Todos Languas_. _Espaňol_. Excusen me, mi amiga, pasen las fresas, por favor?" He had turned to a waitress.

            "Ah, si, si, seňor."

            "Gracias."

            "De nada." She walked away to another costumer.

            "_Todos Languas. English_," he said again. "You see? I don't know why they don't teach it to you in Charms, it's a very easy spell. Give it a try, Angel."

            "O-Okay," I said. "Uh…_Todos Languas…Nihon_. Did it work?"

            "Wow! Cool, she's talking in Japanese, right?" said Ron. 

            "Precisely," Eriol rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "However, Angel, I wonder how you knew how to say Japanese in Nihon?"

            "I dunno," I shrugged. "Hey, how come I hear myself in English? And how come, even though I'm talking in Japanese, I can still hear you?"

            "That's the beauty of it," said Eriol, smiling. "You talk and hear in your original language, but you're actually speaking Japanese to anyone who doesn't have the same spell on them. It's a simple, yet complicated spell."

            "Oh," I said. "_Todos Languas. English._ Sounds complicated. But it works for me."

            "Now, there is one other thing with this trip," said Eriol. "Since we are looking for ten-year-olds, we'll be going undercover."

            "Undercover?" Blaise leaned forward, her glasses slipping off her nose. "In a school, I bet."  

            "Right you are, Blaise," he chuckled. "Bright as a button, this one. There is only one school in Tomoeda, having two classes for fifth graders. One of them is looking for a math teacher, and I will be filling in. As you are all eleven, you'll just pose as ten-year-olds. I've gotten a transfer subscript for each of you as if you were still in the fifth grade in school in England, so it won't be too difficult. Harry, Ron, Angel, and Hermione will be going into one class, while Draco, Blaise, Justin, and Sunny will be in the other."

            "This is going to be interesting," said Sunny, giggling. "We get to go back to Muggle school, JT!"

            "Groovy," Justin muttered.

            "The story is that we're there on an academic transfer program," said Eriol. "That's what we'll look like to the Muggles. I'm glad that Angel chose the ones who seem most likely to pull pranks, though. This is why. We've got to see which ones have even the least amount of magical powers."

            "We get to pull pranks?" Draco said. He had that _look_ in his eyes. 

            "But none that would hurt them," Eriol warned, looking straight at Draco. "If they _are_ Muggle, we want to leave them unscathed. Is that clear?"

            "We're there to pick out the magic from the Muggle," Blaise nodded. "Understood, sir!"

            "Yes…oh, Angel and Hermione, one last thing. The second jump will be a bit longer. I would like you to make sure _not_ to tell Syaoran or Sakura that you'll be in their class," Eriol stared at us both. "I'm going to change a bit of what you look like so that they won't instantly recognize you, of course, but I don't want them knowing that you're in their class."

            "Syaoran and Sakura?" Ron and Harry said in unison. "Who're they?"

            "I'm surprised," Eriol smiled. "You didn't tell them."

            "No…we kind of didn't…" Hermione blushed, staring at her tea. "We'll tell you guys later. Tonight."

            "A good idea," said Eriol. "Just don't show them to Sakura or Syaoran, or I'll have to mask them, too."            

            "We'll just conjure up a screen or something," I said. "No big deal. Sakura's a bit dense, and Syaoran trusts me enough not to bug us about this sort of thing."

            "_Flight to St. Petersburg boarding now_," said the intercom. 

            "That's our flight, let's go," said Eriol, placing a large tip on the table.

            As we headed for the airport, I wondered why Eriol didn't want Hermione and I to tell Syaoran or Sakura we'd be in their class. December 16 would begin our classes, as Eriol continued to tell us. He also continued to tell us more about Japan, something that I'm sure that the others found very fascinating. Not. Even I found it hard to pay attention.

            The only things that I managed to catch were the longer school hours, the extra school day, and the fact that Christmas Day was the only day off school we'd have. I also caught the fact that we'd be staying at a hotel, four to a room. Blaise, Hermione, Sunny, and I had one. Harry, Ron, Draco, and Justin had another. Eriol would be staying with his brother. Luckily, Tomoeda Elementary School was only a block away from the hotel.

            I really felt sorry for Harry, Ron, and Justin, though. Draco was my cousin and my mistake. I should be the only one who had to deal with him. I was the one who invited him, out of desperation, certainly, but still.

            After landing in St. Petersberg, Russia, we had to wait another two hours. We stopped in an Arby's inside the airport for a late lunch, but I was disappointed to find that they did not have cream soda. I had strawberry-kiwi this time, and had a Roast Beef Market Fresh sandwich.

            "If you guys could see the commercial," chuckled Eriol. "The one in 2003 is spectacular."

            That stopped everyone in their tracks.

            "What do you mean, Eriol?" I asked, setting down the second half of my sandwich. "Can you…see the future?"

            "Bits and pieces," he shrugged. "My brother's got the keener Inner Eye. He can see all the way to the time mankind dies out. According to him, if we take the right steps, we should be able to stop the Eastern Magical World from dying out before then."

            "Good," I smiled. "It's good to have some hope and confidence. Let's not get too carried away, though. Even a predicted future can be swayed."

            "You're quite right, Angel," said Eriol. "Quite right."

            We finished up our lunch at around three o'clock and were just heading back to our terminal when the announcements said that our flight was boarding for Hong Kong. The new plane was smaller, but we all had the same area of the plane we had before.

            "Why are we going to Hong Kong International instead of the Japan one?" I asked. "Isn't it only like a few hundred miles?"

            "The plane only has so much fuel," Eriol said. "If it attempted to go the additional distance, we would crash into the Sea of Japan."

            "Oh."

            The plane took off and I slept the rest of the way, my mind a blank white void. I did not want to think or talk or anything of the sort. I just wanted to sleep and have rest before we landed in Hong Kong. I was shaken awake around seven o'clock for dinner, which I ate.

            At around midnight, the plane began to descend and my ears began to hurt, snapping me awake. Some of the others were still asleep, but most had been awakened by the change in pressure. At Hong Kong International, everyone was awake and everyone was in awe.

            "This place is _huge_!" Sunny said, staring around.

            "It is the largest man-made enclosed structure on the planet," said Eriol, smiling. "Finished only a few months ago."

            "Wow…" Justin continued staring around.

            "Come along, then," said Eriol. "We need to pick up our bags and head over to the ferry docks. Chop, chop!"

            As much sleep as I had gotten already, I was tired and my neck ached. The fact that it was now seven in the morning due to the wavering flight and the change in the time zones was even more exhausting. We picked up our suitcases, and was I _ever_ glad I'd packed light. The ferry docks were on the main island of Hong Kong, a short bullet train ride across the water. 

            Once on the ferry, we all collapsed into some chairs. No one really felt like talking, so I stared out at the water. As we approached Tokyo, I saw a tall band of lights. It looked a lot like the Eifel Tower in Paris, only much smaller. I recognized it instantly as the place in my dream.

            "What's that Tower there, Eriol?" I asked.

            "Tokyo Tower. It's a great place for tourists. It's near Tomoeda, so you can take a bullet train later on to visit it, if you like."

            "Hmm…"

            The ferry docked and we climbed aboard a bullet train. Several stops later, we got off in a small town on the outskirts of Tokyo. I saw Tokyo Tower in the distance, along with all of the city lights. But we were far enough away that we could see a great deal of stars. 

            Tomoeda was a town, of course, but it also had several aspects of a small city. There were shops and corner stores, parks and a theme park, and three schools lined up in a perfect row. The Elementary School was protected by a set of iron bar gates, which seemed to disappear in the morning. The doors were arched and windowed and showed the way into a darkened school. It was the fifteenth of December. We would be going to school the next morning.

            We walked a little further along the way and came onto the hotel, which was the only one on this side of the town. It was new looking, but not at all spacious. Red brick covered the outside, and a revolving door lead inside. Eriol walked right up to the front desk and told the man that he had two reservations and paid him in cash. 

            "There's a key for each of you," Eriol said. "Even you Muggles will probably have difficulty with these. They're called card keys." He handed me a card, about the same size as a credit card. It was plain white, with the exception of several black marks at the end, along with a red arrow on one side only.

            "On your door is a slot hole, in which you insert the card into the hole, arrow facing up," Eriol explained slowly. Draco looked like he was going to panic, but seemed to keep it under control. "Let's go. You're on the second floor. Please do not play on the elevators."

            We stepped onto the elevator, which was a tight squeeze, but we managed it. The elevator had twenty buttons, each with a number. Eriol explained how to use it to Draco, knowing that he wouldn't know how to use one. He pressed the number "2" and we rose quickly.

            Once inside the room, a strange combination between Japanese and American, I fell flat onto the last bed in the room and fell fast asleep.

***


	14. Tomoeda Elementary

            Errr….I have an excuse! My mum almost had to have the rest of her leg amputated, so I wasn't able to write or get online. Sorry!! But I'll upload three chapters to make it up to you. Okay?

            Disclaimer: I don't own them.

            Quote: "Peace is the still of the morn on a midsummer's night." –The Guiding, a novel in the works.

***

Chapter 14: Tomoeda Elementary

            Apparently, I slept all day and all night, because I was shaken awake on Monday morning. I felt fresh and well rested, something that I loved to have in the morning. I stared around the room and saw that we had been given our school uniforms for Tomoeda Elementary. There were four outfits, a sweater, a jacket, a hat, and two pairs of shoes. 

            I pulled an under shirt on, which sported a turtleneck, and a sailor-like long-sleeved shirt. On the right shoulder was a winged symbol, which read _Tomoeda Elementary_. A short, short skirt was also pulled on, followed by a pair of dress socks and shoes.

            At last, I brushed my hair into a ponytail and picked up my new school bag, a black shoulder bag with paper and pens and pencils. It was good to have to use pencils again.

            "Eriol's got breakfast in the boy's room ready, Angel," said Hermione. "He's got to give us some last-minute instructions. You can really sleep when you want to, Angel, I've tried to wake you up, conscious and unconscious, for several hours."

            "Sorry," I said, smiling. "Jus' a bit tired."

            "A bit? You've slept over twenty-four hours, Angel!"

            "Yeah, I know," I blushed. "Let's get over to the boy's."

            "Good morning, sleepy heads," Eriol said, sporting a very handsome suit and tie. "Now, everyone go ahead and eat. I will perform the masking spells, so that Syaoran and Sakura won't recognize you and Angel. You'll still have the same color eyes and hair and things, it's just that your faces will look a bit different to Sakura and Syaoran. And to them _only_, I might add."

            "How ya going to do that?" I asked, shoveling some more pancakes into my mouth. I was starving!

            "Very simple. I've two strands of their hair here, courtesy of my brother," he said. "I will use their DNA to tell their eyes to see you as I make you appear to them."

            I nodded. "Cool."

            I felt a light tingling go through my face. Then it was over and I was normal. I looked at Hermione, who looked no different to me. It had apparently worked, though, because Eriol stood a few moments later and told us to follow him to the school.

            "Now, everyone take their Japanese tea," said Eriol. As one, we all said the spell (_Todos Languas. Nihon_), and I think we were all speaking Japanese. I don't know, but I couldn't tell, either. Eriol said we had succeeded.

***

            I had a better look at Tomoeda. To tell the truth, it was an enormous place with many open windows. It looked four stories tall.

            "How are we ever going to find our way around that place?" I muttered. "Hogwarts was bad enough."

            "Oh, you'll find it quite easy," said Eriol. "You'll be staying in one classroom for the majority of the day, with the exception of lunchtime, gym class, art class, and music class."

            "Music class?" I said, trembling. "You said…music class?"

            "Yes, is something wrong?" Eriol blinked down at me.

            "I'm terrible in music," I said, blushing. "I can't play music to get myself out of a paper bag. I can sing, but only just."

            "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll do fine," Eriol laughed. "And it's only for two weeks."

            "Yeah…" I nodded. "Two weeks."

            "Now, you must go to the office and show them your transcripts, here," Eriol handed us each a transcript from the fifth grade, showing grades in each of our classes at this time in the school year when we were all still in the fifth grade. I winced, looking at them all. Straight "A's", until you get to the music section. A in chorus and B in violin, the instrumental section that we had been required to play at my elementary school.

            We reached the office and were ushered apart by two people. A few moments of chaos and explanation later, Harry, Hermione, Ron, and I were headed for class 5A. We stood outside the classroom and waited for our "cue". A very young man, no older than Eriol, walked up to us and smiled.

            "You're the new exchange students, I take it? I'm Mr. Terada, the homeroom teacher," he smiled.

            "Yeah, we are," Hermione said. 

            "What are your names, so I can add them to the roster. I know you'll only be here two weeks, but I still need them," he said.

            "Hermione Granger."

            "Angel Indigo."

            "Harry Potter." 

            "Ron Weasley."

            "Well, I'll go inside and introduce you one at a time," said Mr. Terada.

            "Hey, Angel," Hermione said suddenly. "What good will it do to protect our identities, if we use our real names?"

            "I never told Syaoran or Sakura my last name," I said, shrugging. "Did you?"

            "No. But still…won't the be suspicious?"

            "Syaoran might be," I said. "He's a bit keen on this sort of thing. Should we lie to them?"

            "I think it best," Hermione nodded regretfully. "Though I think we should have changed our names, all the more."

            "That would be lying to the rest of the class," I said, shrugging. "Better just two of them than all of them."

            "Yeah, the two that we happen to know and have befriended," Hermione muttered.

            "Eriol said—"

            "I know," Hermione sighed. "I'd just rather…oh, forget it, it's not important now."

            "Please take your seats," said Mr. Terada. He left the door open so we could hear. "Today, we have four new students joining our class. They'll be here for two weeks to learn more about the Japanese school system first-hand. Come on in."

            Hermione in the lead, we walked into the class. And I froze. There were so many kids…all of them staring at me. 

            "Please, introduce yourselves," said Mr. Terada. 

            "I'm Hermione Granger," she said. She gave a little wave.

            "Ron Weasley."

            "Harry Potter."

            "A-A-Angel. A-Angel I-Indigo," I stammered. I played around with the tie of my sailor-type suit, blinking rapidly. I felt like I was going to cry. 

            "As strange as it sounds, they've all come from England with our new temporary math teacher, Aki Sakamoto." 

            Huh? Aki Sakamoto? I thought _Eriol_ was the new math teacher. What did he mean, we came with him?

            "Now, to seat you," he said. "I've set up four new desks in the back. Let's see here…Indigo, you take the seat behind Li there. Granger, behind Hiiragizawa, I'm sure you'll get along, he's also from England. Weasley and Potter, take the last two desks there, whichever one."

            Great. Peaches and cream and all the dressings, I had to sit right behind him. He was bound to notice that it was me, he was bound to! I walked nervously back to the seat I'd been assigned, carrying my shoes in my hand. The slipper-shoes were already on my feet, as was custom when entering a room. 

            As I was walking, I stared straight ahead. Or at least, I tried to. Syaoran was seated right in my line of sight. He was staring at me, staring and trying to catch my eye. I knew it. I knew he would know something was up. He could sense that it was me. He could! I knew he could, why did I ever think I could mask myself from him!?

            "Here's your seat right here, Ms. Indigo," smiled the raven-haired girl on my left. She was pointing to the seat behind Syaoran, which seemed very clean and new. Actually, as I escaped Syaoran's gaze, the room was extremely clean, almost surgically so.

            "Thank you," I smiled back at the raven-haired girl. I knew her name, I knew her face, but if I let it up that I knew her, that would cement Syaoran's belief in who I was. I sat down. "What's your name?"

            "Daidouji Tomoyo," she answered. "Talk to me after class, okay?" I nodded and turned straight forward as Mr. Terada began to teach his lesson.

***

            As soon as the lesson was over, Syaoran turned around and glared at me.

            "Who are you?"

            "I-Indigo," I stuttered. Boy, could he be scary when he wanted to be. "W-Why do you ask?"

            "Syaoran, stop that," Sakura said. "She just got here, she doesn't know what you're talking about." Just as I had expected, Sakura did not catch on to who I was. Or at least, she didn't feel it yet.

            Syaoran turned away and slumped in his seat, waiting patiently for the next class. Boy, he was a lot different in his classroom environment.

            "Don't worry, Indigo," whispered Daidouji. "He's just protective of Sakura." I smiled and nodded. Hermione looked over and shrugged. 

            Then Eriol walked in. Only, it wasn't Eriol. Not the Eriol I knew, anyway. He looked stern and wore thinner, more menacing glasses. His suit was tailored to him, and made him look older and stronger.

            "Good morning, class," he said. "I am Aki Sakamoto, Mr. Sakamoto to you. I will be covering for your teacher until she returns."

            The entire class was silent. I didn't know Eriol could act so different! It was like he was an entirely different person. He taught the lesson, and ushered us out to gym class. He stopped me and seemed to return to himself again. He smiled.

            "Don't feel too intimidated, Angel, you know this is just my disguise," he said.

            "I'm sorry," I said, blushing. "You're really…powerful looking when you're doing that."

            "I know. Well, what do you expect your first prank to be?"

            "I don't know," I said, shrugging. "I was never good with pranks."

            "Well, start with something you know will work on some people," he said, smiling again. "You have permission to use magic, Angel, because this place is not in the magical jurisdiction. You've got your wand, right?"

            "Of course!" I said. "I wouldn't go anywhere without it."

            "They're dissecting frogs during science. Hurry and get outside."

            I ran outside, wondering what he meant by that.

            The others were standing outside, listening to another teacher. I snuck into the group and found that I hadn't missed much. We were playing volleyball. Ron and Harry turned to me, and Hermione turned an ear.

            "Aki Sakamoto is Eriol," I said, whispering. "He said that there is no magical jurisdiction here. We can use magic to do our pranks, as long as we aren't seen."

            "Wicked," Ron said.

            "He also said that we're dissecting frogs during science, then he told me to get outside," I said, still puzzled.

            "Cool," Harry said. "We'll make the frogs levitate all over the room. That's get people real scared."

            "Maybe one of them will show magical potential," Hermione agreed. "We could try the same with these volleyballs. We're on the sidelines for now."

            "But how will we do it without being seen?" Ron hissed as we walked off to the side. Sakura, Syaoran, Tomoyo, and another kid named Yamazaki. Yamazaki was chattering and didn't stop for a long time.

            "Hermione will do it," I said, forming a plan in my head. "Ron and Harry and I will block the other's view of the wand. We've got to looked bored, though, like we're just doing this because we want to play."

            Ron and Harry nodded and we formed a little horseshoe around Hermione's hand. She whispered the words "_Wingardium Leviosa_" and the volleyball floated out of one of the girls' hands. Hermione continued to make it float, even as Harry, Ron, and I looked up at it in surprise. 

            "What's going on?" I said. 

            "I don't know," Ron said.

            "Do they do this sort of thing all the time?" Harry asked frantically.

            "I don't know," Ron repeated.

            The other kids were all murmuring among themselves. Eriol was watching the ball curiously. Syaoran was glancing around for suspicious movements. He had as of yet to look at us. 

            As soon as the ball was out of sight, Hermione released it and quickly pocketed her wand. The girl who had had the ball before was staring at her hands as the ball came back down to Earth.

            "Look out!" Mr. Terada was shouting. He was passing by with a stack of papers when he saw what was going on. "Rika!" The girls looked up and then stood rooted to the spot. She screamed out loud and a wave of blue fire shot out of the ground and struck the ball, incinerating it in seconds.

            "I think we just found our first candidate," I said, smirking. I quickly looked clueless as Syaoran glanced back at us again.

***

            Lunch came around, and already we'd discovered one magical person: Rika. The flying frogs had wielded a little less of a reaction. She had only repelled the away from her.

            Syaoran looked ready to kill when he approached me a few seconds after the bell rang. Sakura and Tomoyo were behind him, both looking extremely confused. 

            "Follow me. We'd like to have a word with you," he said, frowning. 

            "Wha-What?" I said, blinking. "But I—"

            "_Now_."

            Sulking, I followed him. Things were looking grim. Had he discovered who I was? Did he suspect? He had to suspect me, why would he take me out alone like this? Why didn't he tell Hermione to come, though?

            "Why are you here…Ms. Mizuki?" asked Sakura.

            Mizuki? Who's Mizuki?

            "We know you're masked under there," said Syaoran. "Just show yourself."

            "I don't know what you're talking about," I said, shaking my head. "I don't even know anyone named Mizuki."

            "Show yourself!" Syaoran shouted, and a talismon was in his hand before I could say anything else.

            "I'm not Mizuki!" I shouted.

            "If you're not Mizuki, then who are you?" Syaoran whispered, his voice deadly serious.

            "Angel Indigo is my name, that is the truth," I said slowly and carefully. "I should have changed my name to throw you off, but I guess it is all for the better."

            "Then Mizuki was your fake name, was it?" Syaoran lit the talismon with a spell.

            "NO!" I roared in frustration. "I was never this person! I am only Angel! Only Angel!"

            "She is telling the truth," Tomoyo said suddenly. "She doesn't know what you're talking about, Li."

            "How do you know?" Syaoran snapped.

            "It her eyes," Tomoyo answered. "She's telling the truth. Not the whole truth, but I can tell. She's doing it for our own good. Leave her be, Li."

            "She's right, Syaoran," Sakura said. "Tomoyo knows these things. I'm sorry, Indigo, that we were so rude."

            "That's okay," I said. "No harm done. You might want to put your talismon out, though, Syaoran."

            "Wha—ah!" He shook his hand roughly, which made the fire worse.

            I sighed. "Eriol's gonna kill me, but…_Extinguisora_!" I put the fire out. "_Reparo_!" And fixed his shirt, good as new.

            "Who _are_ you?" Syaoran pressed.

            "You won't recognize me for a while, Syaoran," I shook my head again. "But know this—I am close to you. I am your ally, despite what you may think."

***

O_O I know that's not what you were expecting. Syaoran thought I was Mizuki!! ^__^


	15. Actual Battle or Not

Yeah. Anyhow. Sorry!

Quote: "Another day gone, another smiling child given a chance." –The Guiding

***

Chapter 15: Actual Battle—Not!

            "This is bad," Hermione said. "Why didn't you ask me to come along?"

            "There wasn't time," I mumbled. "Syaoran's scary when he wants to be."

            We were back at the hotel, all in one piece. Now that we were in the room in broad daylight and I wasn't distracted, I had to pleasure of examining the room. The beds were normal twins, squashed against one side of the room. There was about two feet of walking room between each, and an end table with a lamp on each one. At the end of each bed was a short chest of drawers, Japanese in style. At the one end of the room was a bathroom and a wire bar set with several hangers for formal clothes, which was occupied only by our school uniforms. 

            The "closet" also sported a place for our shoes, which we were required to take off at the door. A low table and several cushions were also in the room, along with a telephone and a phone book. Before we had taken the language beverages, it had been printed in Japanese, but now it was in English because of the spell.  The entire room was a clash between East and West, but isn't that what we were doing?

            We ate dinner, and then went to sleep. Syaoran and Sakura were waiting for us

            "I take it you got here okay?" Syaoran asked. He looked a lot nicer now that he actually knew who I was. 

            "Yeah, we did," I smiled. "We're staying at a hotel in Tokyo, really near the Tokyo Tower. We're going to go and see it later on in the week. We're hoping to find a few more people to take back with us. Eriol's going to wait until the end of the week to take us to Tomoeda Elementary, I think."

            It was a lie through my teeth, but it had to be told. Hermione was with Sakura, trying to get her strong enough to remember her dreams.

            "We're growing nearer to the date of the fight," Syaoran said. "Will you be there?"

            "I'm sure I will." In fact, I meant to. Someone wanted me there, and I was going to be there.

***

            The week passed quickly. Rika, Chiharo, Sakura, and Eriol (the small one) quickly became my friends. It's amazing how I jumped from having no friends to having so many. The first week drew to a close, and Syaoran still hadn't approached me again.

            Saturday was halfway over when I heard Syaoran shouting.

            "You want to go where?!"

            He sounded worried, but I could feel a little underlying knowing under it all. Sakura was a fairly dense person, so she couldn't see it. I decided to drop some eaves and listen in.

            "I think it was Tokyo Tower," she said. "I want to know who those people were, the ones who looked like Kero and Yue. And that girl who was helping us, I want to know who she is. And that boy holding Clow Reed's staff.

            "That's the dream we had," I whispered to myself, drowning out Sakura's voice. "It's tonight! I've gotta go to Tokyo Tower."

            "Kero says my magic power has gotten a lot stronger!" Sakura was saying.

            "So you're going today?"

            "Sure! Toya and my father won't be home, and Tokyo Tower is pretty close," she said.

            "I'm going too. I might not be able to help if Clow Reed's involved, but—"

            "That's not true," Sakura interrupted. "You help me a lot. And I feel less worried when I know you'll be there, Syaoran."

            She returns his feelings! Sakura likes Syaoran, too. Why hasn't he noticed yet? Duh. Boy intellect.

            "Um--!"

            "Yes?"

            "…Nothing."

            "Eh?" 

            "When we get done today…I'll tell you," Syaoran said.

            "You promise?" 

            I walked away. The promise had been made.

***

            "Tonight?" Hermione said. "Okay, we'll go. Change into some Muggle clothes, we need to get onto the train."

            "Okay," I nodded. Somehow, however, things didn't seem right. In my dream, I distinctly remembered flying my Nimbus in my school robes, and then appearing in Tomoeda, running down the street. Perhaps it was just a change in the time stream. I don't know.

            On the bullet train, Hermione and I stood alone. We'd left a note for Eriol and the boys, in case they came back from the game soon. The boys had all gone to see a baseball game in Tokyo.

            "Why do you think everything's changed?" Hermione asked.

            "I don't know, 'Mione," I said. "Things are different, for some reason. Let's just get to Tokyo Tower and see." Hermione nodded.

            The train pulled to a stop near the Tower. However, we were nowhere near a stop on the board. What was going on? Very suddenly, I found out what. Everyone around us was falling asleep.

            "Come on, we're late!" I shouted. I pried the door open with my bare hands and jumped down to the ground, using a talismon to cushion my landing. Still, my Eastern Magic was weak and I landed hard. The moment my feet touched the ground, I took off running.

            "Rabbit speed!" Hermione said, holding up a talismon. "I made it last night!"

            "Good idea!" I shouted. She spoke a few Chinese words and our speed increased ten-fold. The Tokyo Tower came into focus and she spoke a few more words.

            "Tomoyo! Tomoyo!" shouted Sakura. Syaoran was struggling against the sleeping spell. The sun and moon began to disappear then. 

            "We need to take off the spell that Eriol placed on us, or we're not going to look like we need to," Hermione whispered as we waited in the background.

            "He taught me how," I said, pulling a string of my hair out. "Our DNA is still inside our hair. If we point our wands to it with the _Finite Incantadum_, we should look like ourselves for Sakura and Syaoran again."

            "Okay," Hermione nodded. She also pulled out a strand of her hair. 

            "_Finite Incantadum_."

            "Sakura!" I ran forward. "Syaoran!"

            "Angel…Hermione…" Syaoran looked like he was going to faint. "You did…come…after all."

            "No time for that, kiddo, it's happenin' for real this time," I said. "Sakura, give me her, you deal with Eriol."

            "But I don't want to hurt him!" Sakura cried. "Who are you?"

            "You don't have to," I said. "Just…" I gasped. Dumbledore had said something about this! "Change all the cards, Sakura! Change them all!"

            "All of them?" Sakura blinked at the cards. "But—"

            "Just do it!" I shouted. "I'll take care of her." I took Tomoyo from her and settled the little raven-haired girl against a tree. Sakura didn't have much trouble changing the last of her cards; Eriol helped her with that.

            Just then, the flying teenager showed up. He had long white hair, and was carrying Sakura's older brother, Toya. I'd seen Toya only once, and he hadn't been very nice to me. However, I couldn't just sit there and do nothing.

            "Bring him over here!" I called to the winged teenager. "I'll watch him."  
            "No, I will," said Hermione. "For some reason, I get the feeling that you should be over there with them, Angel. Remember what Dumbledore said? Let the Light guide you with the Dark! The Star will watch you."

            Now it made sense. The last two cards in Sakura's hands were the Light and the Dark. Her staff was made of a circular star. I'd seen this all before. What was so new that I was missing it all?

            "You've changed it…somehow…" Syaoran struggled to stay standing. "Somehow…you've changed…the path…of…history…" He grimaced, but I think he was trying to smile. 

            "You've figured it out, have you?" said Eriol—the smaller one. "My older brother has tangled up the strands of time yet again. However, if this spell is not broken by the Star before the dawn has risen, the people of this city will sleep forever."

            "He's using wandless magic!" I realized with a choking gasp. "The Draught of the Living Death!"

            "What?" Hermione said, turning to me.

            "I-I don't know," I said to myself. "It's coming to me…as if something's feeding it into my brain! All I know is that he's using the potion that Snape told us about on the first day of class! Without the actual potion!"

            "What?! That's impossible!" Hermione yelled.

            "You underestimate the powers of Clow Reed," said the winged teenager. "He made Kero and I. That is how I know."

            "Then you're Yue, I take it," I said, still staring up at Eriol/Clow Reed.

            "Yes. I do not know how you know of this, or Li, or the other girl," he said. "But that is my Master fighting. And I will protect her."

            "But…I don't want to hurt them!" Sakura shouted. "I couldn't bear it if Yue or Kero or Syaoran were lost because of me!"

            "That's the thing!" I shouted back. "You have to have faith! Believe in yourself, and the people around you!"

            "But—"

            Sakura looked up at Eriol/Clow Reed, looking like she was going to cry. She grasped her staff tightly and brought out another card.

            "JUMP!"

            She leapt up toward Clow and was thrown to the ground. I was just about to pull out my wand, when a gust of wind followed Syaoran's shout of "_Wind Summons!_" Although Sakura was safe, Syaoran was nearly killing himself by using his magic.

            "You shouldn't use magic in such a state," Eriol said. He had the look of pity in his eyes. It was then that I knew that he was not the enemy that we were to face. He was merely a steppingstone for Sakura's magical power. However, if Sakura did not change the Light and the Dark cards, she would not know that she did it completely on her own.

            "_Wingardium Leviosa_!" I shouted, letting Syaoran's magic rest as I gently coasted Sakura to the ground. "Sakura, you've got to change the Light and the Dark! And you've got to do them together!"

            "W-What…?" Sakura gasped. She was still surprised. "Who _are_ you?"

            "My name's Angel, and I've been watching you for a long time," I said. "Please, you've just got to trust me. _Change those cards_."

            Sakura nodded and pulled out both the cards. Slowly, they began to change. Soon, however, her magic broke and she could not continue. At least, not on her own.

            "Cerberus! Yue! Syaoran!" I ordered. "FRONT AND CENTER!" 

            For some reason, people move awfully fast when I yell. Syaoran was slow in coming, but he was behind Sakura a few moments afterwards.

            "Is there anyway that you two can help Sakura change these cards?" I asked quickly. Yue and Cerberus both nodded slowly. "Do it. Let me talk to Syaoran for a sec."

            "Syaoran, you've got to help her," I said to him. "Even if it's only for a few seconds. I'll keep those two at bay."

            "All right…if you…say so," he grunted in the effort he was exerting. When I turned back around, Yue and Cerberus were gone, and Sakura's staff had turned into a new star. Sakura was trying to change the cards again, at the same time, and it was working, though slowly. Syaoran wrapped his arms around her and put as much of his magic into it as he could.

            "Syaoran?" Sakura blinked at him in surprise.

            "All right, you!" I shouted to the two creatures. "Ruby Moon and Spinel Sun, prepare to be frozen! _STUPIFY_!"

            Very quickly, neither Ruby Moon nor Spinel Sun was moving anymore. I didn't want them hurt, either, so I used my Levitation Charm to set them safely on the ground.

            "Clow Reed! Eriol! Whatever the heck you want me to call you, get your BUTT DOWN HERE!" I roared up at him. He blinked at me, his narrow eyes wide and uncertain. "Hey, you're lookin' at one o' your bro's students here! I won't take no for an answer!" 

            He finally smirked and used a wandless Levitation Charm on himself, setting his feet softly on the ground. By that time, Sakura had finished changing the cards.

            "LIGHT!" 

            It was bright as day very suddenly, and Eriol smiled. "Now it is over."

            "I don't think so," I shook my head. "I get the feeling that this is just the beginning, fella." I clapped him on the shoulder, to which he smiled again.

            "Well done, Sakura," Eriol began to walk over toward her and Syaoran, but it was not him who spoke. It was Cerberus. Sakura hugged Syaoran tightly, thanking him over and over again.

            I ran over to her and Syaoran and smiled.

            "Maybe you oughta keep that little promise you made, Syaoran," I winked at him. He blushed and raved at me.

            "How'd you find out about that?!" he shouted.

            "I've been spying on you guys all week, as had Hermione and two of our friends," I said, grinning. "Ring a bell? Angel Indigo, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, and Harry Potter? Hmm?" I batted my eyelashes at him.

            "Y-You're…but…you can't be!" Syaoran said. "You're face is different!"

            "You'll soon learn that appearances can easily be swayed," I smiled. "We're here on a mission. To find as many magical ten-year-olds as possible to come to our school in England and learn magic. The East needs to establish a government. That is our goal."

            "And a righteous goal it is," said Eriol, smiling. Sakura immediately was on her guard, as well as Cerberus and Yue. "It is over. No more games."

            "He was lying," I said, casting a sideways glance toward him. 

            "Lying…?" Sakura looked at me quizzically. "How did you know?"

            "I have a knack for things like that," I shrugged.

            "As happy as I am to have that out of the way," Eriol chuckled. "The real sun isn't up yet. Some people will be a tad confused if it's still light out like this."

            Sakura nodded warily and activated the Dark card, bringing back the moon and the stars.

            "Awright, Clow!" Cerberus yelled. "And you too, missy. You got some 'splaining to do!"

            "Yes, I'd like to know, too," Sakura said. "Why—Ah!"

            I turned and looked in the direction she was looking, and my jaw dropped. I knew that face immediately. It was Eriol! The _other _Eriol, the one who had been teaching at my school.

            "Eriol, what are you doing here?" I asked, at the same time Sakura asked.

            "Dad, what are you doing here?"

            We exchanged a quick glance, our eyes wide.

            "He's your _dad_?" I said, bewildered.

            "He's not Eriol," Sakura blinked.

            We both turned to Clow Reed/Eriol, who looked on the verge of laughing his butt off. "What's going on here?!"

            "Take off the spell, Fujitaka," chuckled Clow Reed/Eriol. Suddenly, the man I'd come to know as Eriol became a tall businessman, _much_ older than twenty.

            "Da…wha…what the heck!?" I managed to stammer out. 

            "Dad, you said you wouldn't be back until Christmas Day!" Sakura shouted, crying. She hugged him around the middle closely. "I'm glad to see you. But what's going on? What happened to the dig?"

            "Sakura, I'm afraid that I lied to you, too," said Fujitaka/Eriol. "And a bit to you, too, Angel. Come, let's go to my old house. It will be much easier to explain there."

            "Okay," I shrugged.

            "The others are waiting there, too," Fujitaka/Eriol said. 

            Hermione and I groaned. 

***


	16. Explanations

Er….

Quote: "Believe you and me, this is a nightmare."—me

***

Chapter 16: Explanations

            "Are you all right?!" Ron and Harry yelled upon our immediate entrance.

            "Why'd you go without telling us?" Ron said.

            "And why didn't you say anything about those two being the ones that—"

            "Calm down, boys, calm down," I patted them both on the heads, a difficult thing when it came to Ron. "We're all getting explanations here. Believe you and me."

            "But—"

            "Just shut it, Weasel," said Draco.

            "Don't start with me, Malfoy," Ron growled.

            "BOYS!" Hermione yelled.

            "Now, let's get this explained in totality," I said. "Fujitaka/Eriol and Clow Reed/Eriol, explain away."

            "I suspect this will take a long time," Clow Reed/Eriol said. "Fujitaka, can you put your son in one of the beds?"

            "Of course." 

            And that was what the scene looked like in the living room of the ancient Clow Reed. Eriol/Clow Reed seated in a high-backed armchair, and all of us gathered around him. 

            Behind Eriol/Clow Reed were his four creations: Yue, Cerberus, Ruby Moon, and Spinel Sun. However, two of them had changed shape. Cerberus was now a tiny little teddy-bear-like creature and Spinel Sun was a cat-like one. According to Yue, he would not be able to remember what had happened one he returned to his "temporary form", the guise of a human teenager that I had come to know as Yuki. Ruby Moon would be able to, but chose not to.

            Standing before the high armchair was my "team", I suppose you'd call us. The eight people, including myself, who had come with Fujitaka/Eriol from Hogwarts. Sakura, Syaoran, and Tomoyo (the raven-haired girl) were all with us, yet they were separated.

            I sat down on the floor, and everyone but Draco followed me. There was no couch to speak of, and I was tired even before I'd begun.

            Once Fujitaka/Eriol returned, the questions began.

            "Who _are_ you?" came several voices.

            "What are _they_?"

            "What's going on?"

            "Why?"

            And many more. Fujitaka/Eriol and Eriol/Clow Reed finally held up their hands, and were greeted with silence.

            "The story is long and enduring," said Eriol/Clow Reed. "And each of us only knows a part. So this tale will begin, as all do, at the beginning. First off, I think we both owe you all an apology. There have been many lies told here, and many of them have effected you in several different ways.

            "Hundreds of years ago, the magician Clow Reed lived. He was our former self. He crafted the nineteen Clow Cards by combining aspects of both Eastern and Western magic. He created Yue and Cerberus to protect them. 

            "Clow was also a fortune teller, and knew the date and time he would die. He also knew the girl who would soon become Mistress of the Clow Cards. And he knew that the Moon Guardian of the Cards would be especially hard to win over to a new Master, and crafted a Bell full of the Moon magic he used so well. 

            "However, he also knew that if the Cards were not changed to use the magic of the girl's own, the Cards would lose their power and become worthless pieces of paper. With Sakura's magic being so new and sudden, it would have destroyed her if she did not have something to work against to change those cards. That is why I have been here, giving Sakura so much trouble.

            "And she's done so beautifully. However, that is not the whole tale. Upon the day that I was to die, I split my soul into two entities. One was myself, Eriol Hiiragizawa. The second was this man, Fujitaka Kinomoto, Sakura's Father. There is more, however."

            "More?" Sakura said.

            "I was…troubled by the amount of power that I had as Clow Reed," said Eriol with a smile toward Sakura. "Something went wrong when we were split. Somehow, the memories, which were all supposed to be inherited by myself, were copied into Fujitaka as well. And he had a different plan than mine."

            "A different plan?" I said.

            "Yes," Fujitaka said. "When I was born into this world, here in Japan, I realized very early on that there was a very hearty lack in government. The Chinese magical world had disappeared, taken out by their hopes for full-blooded magic alone."

            "So the East had problems with mudbloods, too, how convenient," said Draco.

            "Yeah, Draco," I snapped. "They were nearly wiped out because of the so-called pure-blood sentiment." He bit his tongue.

            "I put my plea into Dumbledore, the only man that I knew I could count on to get a new government going," said Fujitaka. "However, there was a problem."

            "A problem?" Sakura cocked her head to the side.

            "I was without magic," said Fujitaka. "Couldn't sense a thing. A first year boy at Dumbledore's school saw my problem. Despite his entire future as a wizard, he cut me a deal. He would give me his magic if I would get married and have two children." He smiled at Sakura. "He made me promise that I would send them to his school and become magicians themselves. That eleven-year-old boy was Timothy Malfoy."

            "Timothy…Malfoy…" my eyes grew wide. "That's my dad! My _daddy_ gave you his magic to save the East?" I'd never, in my life, heard that my strict and stern father had ever been such a hero. My father had been inside the _Enterprise_ during the Gulf War, almost completely out of danger.

            "That he did, Angel," said Fujitaka, grinning. "That sort of makes you related by magic to Sakura. Sort of like a cousin, I'd say."

            "And Tomoyo!" said Sakura brightly. 

            "When I heard that you were coming to Hogwarts, I took action," said Fujitaka. "I wanted you to know as much about Japan as possible before you came. And I wanted you to find out just why your father is a Squib. I also wanted you to help me find more recruits to Hogwarts."

            "But wait," I said. "What about Toya? You said you promised you'd send your children to Hogwarts. Why didn't you send Toya?"

            "Well…unfortunately, he turned out to be a Squib," said Fujitaka, laughing. "He had magic in him, yes. He had enough to sustain Yue, when Toya gave it to him, but not enough to do a decent charm."

            "Oh…" I nodded.

            "I was beginning to think Sakura would turn out the same way," Fujitaka laughed. "Until I began to feel her magic all over Tomoeda. For a while, I thought we'd been invaded by the Chinese undercover wizards again, but it was only my little Sakura. Her, Syaoran, Tomoyo, and the Cards, anyhow."

            "Tomoyo?" I asked. "We've tried everything we can think of to get her to show herself as magic."

            "Did you ever try tapping her on the shoulder when she wasn't paying attention?" Cerberus asked, laughing. "ZAP!" He acted as though he'd been shocked.

            "I didn't mean it, Kero! Honest!" Tomoyo protested.

            "Don't worry," Sakura said. "That means you get to go to school with me. Right, Angel?"

            "Right you are, Sakura!" I grinned.

            "There is…one more thing," said Eriol. "I would like Angel to perform a spell for me. Between myself…and Angel's father."

            "But my father is all the way back in Kansas," I said. "And besides, I think he likes his job now. I don't think he'd like being magic."

            "Do you know anyone related to you who'd like it?" Eriol asked. 

            "Why related to me?" I asked.

            "To repay you and your father."

            "Hmm…" I thought for a few minutes. My mother would hate it. I had no aunts or uncles or cousins who would like it. However… "David."

            "Your brother?" Syaoran turned to me in surprise.

            "My parents mailed me a while ago," I said, now feeling a little guilty that I hadn't told them. "My brother hasn't shown any signs of being magic. If there's anyone who deserves it, it's David."

            "How do we get him here?" Hermione asked.

            "We're not Solid Dreamers for nothing, 'Mione," I said. "We just wait till we're asleep. Then I'll bring Sakura and Eriol and David here."

            "You're a Solid Dreamer?" Eriol blinked.

***

            "Sissy!!!" David yelled. "I've missed you so much! Guess what? I gots an A on my report card! In _English_! I can read now! I can _read_!"

            "That's great, kitsune," I smiled at him.

            "Sissy? You're talking," David said.

            "Oh! Darn, I forgot about that," I said. I conjured up a glass of water. "_Todos Languas. English_. That better?"

            "Wow…magic!" David gasped. "How'd you do that?"

            "Very simple," I said. "You'll learn how later on. Right now, we've got a special present for you."

            "For me? Really?" David grinned. "Who's he?"

            "This is Eriol Hiiragizawa, a friend of mine," I said. "He wants to give you half of his magic." David's mouth dropped open.

            "Really? Wow, that would be so great, then I would be even stronger when I get to school, right?"

            "Right," I smiled. 

            "Angel, are you ready?" Eriol asked, speaking English. I glanced at him in surprise. "I learned Japanese and English the hard way a long time ago."

            "Yeah, I am," I said, nodding.

            "Then repeat after me. Magic sealed within one…"

            **_"Magic sealed within one…"_**

****"The Magician Clow Reed…"

            **_"The Magician Clow Reed…"_**

****"Let the magic that he locked be divided…In the two entities decided…"

**_            "Let the magic that he locked be divided…In the two entities decided…"_**

Both David and Eriol suddenly collapsed, being caught by myself and Hermione, who was standing by. She looked up at me, startled. 

            "Was that supposed to happen?"

            "Yeah, I suppose so," I said. "I'll put David back in his bed. You put Eriol to his, okay?"

            "Okay," she nodded. 

            I conjured up my baby brother's bedroom, the real place, the real house. I settled him gently to his pillows and looked around, smiling at the memories. I pulled his covers gently over him and walked out into the house. It was just as I'd left it. The halls were the same. I walked into my room. It was untouched, save my bed. I'd never made my bed before, and now it was neatly made. 

            Sighing, I went back to the hotel room, and glanced over at Hermione, who was also sitting up. She smiled at me and nodded. We settled back to sleep.

            The week passed by quickly again, as we still went to school. Everyone was wondering what Fujitaka would do. Would he really go back to Hogwarts for the remainder of the term? Would he stay with his daughter? Would he find a replacement for either place?

            No one could guess and no one asked. On the day we were to return to Hogwarts, Eriol held a large banquet at his home, just for those involved. Rika and a boy named Kitsune Kusanagi, from the other class, were also invited. We explained the entire messy situation to them, and they agreed to talk to their parents about a seven-year exchange program to England.

            It was then that Fujitaka announced his decision.

            "I will be coming back to Hogwarts, yes," he said. "I am trusting Toya, Yue, and Kero to protect my daughter. And also Syaoran, of course." His eyes twinkled in Syaoran's direction. 

            At seven o'clock, we carried our things to the airport and Sakura said a tearful good-bye to her father. Eriol waved us off. 

            "Hey, Syaoran," I said, pulling him aside. "You never kept your promise to Sakura. You _were_ going to tell her that you like her, weren't you?"

            "But—"

            "Butts are for ashtrays, never for love, Syaoran," I said, grinning. "Go on and tell her. Fujitaka supports you as well." He nodded, still stammering away. He approached Sakura and stuttered several times. As Fujitaka ushered me on to the plane, I saw Sakura wrap her arms around Syaoran in a hug, his face so bright red you'd think she was choking him to death.

            "Finally," I whispered. Then we took the long flight back to Hogwarts.

***


	17. Flamel and Hufflepuff

No more disclaimers. You've had sixteen of them, you know I don't own a thing. Anyway, I've had a hard time getting on the computer. Senior year, Mom's had a really bad surgery (they almost had to cut off the rest of her leg), and too much other junk going on.

Quote: "You'd think with all the simple stuff that goes on in the world, there wouldn't be people who like to complicate things." –me after the 9/11 attack.

***

Chapter 17: Flamel and Hufflepuff

            We still had three days left before school would officially start. The snow was perfect. We played in it several hours before settling back in to play Wizard's Chess in our makeshift dormitory, the Great Hall. 

            Hermione, Harry, Ron, and I hadn't gotten our Christmas presents until we got back into the tower. Unfortunately, that wasn't until dinner time the day we got back. Fred and George had set up several Dung Bombs to go off for Filch, and they hadn't had the foresight not to set them up in front of the Griffindor Tower.

            I'd gotten a chess set from my mother, which I immediately found out were very life-like. I wasn't nearly as good as Ron, but I could beat Hermione. Well, only twice, but we played three times by the time school started back up again. 

            What I really liked was my new Invisibility Cloak, something my father had sent me. He said Lucius had given it to him for his birthday when they were small, and he hadn't really ever had any use for it. So he gave it to me.

            In addition to all the things from my family (more sweets from my brother), there was also my friends. Ron gave me a book of complicated potions, something that I'd gotten fairly good at despite Snape's hatred of me. Harry, following in Ron's footsteps, had given me a book of household spells, some of which showed me how to knit and such. I think he was trying to tell me something. Hermione gave me a special pad of paper, bewitched so that whatever I drew, once completed, would move around just like a photograph. She also gave me a set of pigmented inks to go with it.

            Mrs. Weasley also sent a load of things for me, including a small cooking stove that I could use in my dormitory. She sent a Weasley sweater (a comfortable blue cotton one with a golden yellow A) and several small pies.

            "Sure know how to make a girl feel welcome back," I said, pulling the sweater over my head. I packed the Invisibility Cloak into my trunk, hiding it from the boys.

            "Hey, 'Mione," I said. "What'd you get?"

            "Sweets from your brother, a few new books from my parents, the usual," Hermione grinned. "Your brother is so sweet!"

            "His favorite phrase is 'sweets for the sweet'," I said. "I wonder if he got anything for Draco? I know I did."

            "You _did_? After all he's done?" Hermione gaped.

            "I gave him a few boxes of Chocolate Frogs, in hopes of him choking on one," I said sullenly. Hermione laughed.

***

            School finally started back up again. The other kids came back, and all of Griffindor wanted to know how many we'd found to come and be at school the next year and if anything interesting had happened. Dumbledore had told us not to tell anyone what had happened with Sakura, Fujitaka, and Eriol, so we told them all that we actually could without giving out anything.

            When people found out we'd gone undercover, they grinned and said they wished they could have gone and played pranks on people. Wood was especially delighted that I'd had some time to wind down. However, he kicked training into high gear, because we would soon be playing Hufflepuff. I was still a rotten Seeker.

            During one particular session, we received some very rotten news, something that I found worse than the fact that Harry still beat me out when we were training to catch the Snitch.

            "Will you two quit playing around!" he was yelling at Fred and George. "Snape's refereeing our game next week and I don't want anything to go wrong!"

            George fell off his broom and into a big puddle of mud.

            "You've gotta be kidding!" I shouted.

            When Ron and Hermione heard the news, they both fell out of their seats. It was after practice, and Harry and I were both gloomy. Just when we were going to explain that we couldn't break our legs or get hurt or fake sick, Neville came crashing into the Common Room, his legs locked firmly together. Most people were too busy laughing to help him, but Hermione jumped up and performed the countercurse.

            "What happened?" Hermione asked, guiding the poor boy over toward us. He had lost a considerable amount of weight since the start of the school year, but he still had the chubby look in his face. Neville looked like he was going to cry.

            "Malfoy," Neville answered. "I met him outside the library. Said he was looking for someone to practice that on."

            "Why that little rat!" I raged. "I'll get him, I swear I will! He's been nothing but trouble, I declare, he probably put that jiggernaut on you on purpose!"

            "Report him," Hermione suggested, casting me a glance. "Tell McGonagall what he did."

            "I don't want any trouble," Neville hiccupped. A tear began to fall as he walked slowly away.

            "You've got to stand up to him, Neville!" Ron said. "He's used to walking all over people, look what he did to Angel! It's no reason to lie down and let him do it to you!"

            "You don't have to tell me I'm not brave enough to be in Griffindor," Neville choked out. "Malfoy's done that well enough."

            "You're wrong, Neville," I shook my head.

            Harry gave him a Chocolate Frog, one of the last he had left over from Christmas.

            "You're worth twelve of Malfoy," he said. "The Sorting Hat chose you—_you_, not Malfoy—for Griffindor. And where's Malfoy?"

            "In Slytherin," I said. "You see, Neville? You've got friends behind you, all the way." Neville smiled and hiccupped again.

            "Thanks, you guys," he said. "You want the card, Harry? I know you collect them."  
            I smiled sadly as Neville walked away. The poor kid. Where were his parents? Why was he being raised by his gram and great aunt and great uncle?

            "I found him!" Harry shouted, breaking my thoughts. "I found Flamel!"

            "Really?!" I said, a little quieter. 

            "Yes! I _told_ you I'd read it somewhere!" Harry grinned. "Listen to this. 'Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the Dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for his discovery of the twelve uses for dragon's blood, and _his work on alchemy with his partner Nicolas Flamel_'!"

            "Stay there!" Hermione said, so excited you'd think she'd won the Muggle lottery. Ron, Harry, and I exchanged boggled looks, and she returned moments later with an enormous book that she and I had been reading together while waiting for Syaoran and Sakura to get to sleep.

            "What's that for, 'Mione?" I asked

            "There's a complete history of alchemy in here!" she said. "Ah, here it is. I knew it'd be here! Flamel is the only known maker of _the Sorcerer's Stone_!"

            "You're joking!" I shouted, taking the book from her. "The Sorcerer's Stone? You really think that's what Fluffy's hiding?"

            "It's got to be," Hermione said. "Why else would Snape want it so badly?"

            "Um…the stupid peoples would like to know what you're babbling on about," Ron said grumpily.

            Hermione and I goggled at him.

            "You mean you don't know?" Hermione gaped.

            "No," Harry and Ron said in unison.

            "Here," I set the book on the table. "Read that." (AN-I know I type things right from the book a lot, but I won't type that. Ya'll oughta know what it says. ^_~)

            "A stone that makes gold and let's you live forever!" Harry said as soon as he finished reading. "No wonder Snape wants it. _Anyone _would want it!"

            "And no wonder we couldn't find Flamel in the recent history books," said Ron, sitting back. He seemed a bit dazed. "He isn't exactly recent if he's six-hundred sixty-five, is he?"

***

            As the match against Hufflepuff approached, Wood continued to stress the need for me to get better as a Seeker. However, all the training seemed to do was make Harry better at seeing and getting the Snitch before me. Snape was horrible toward us, and I couldn't help but think that perhaps he'd found out that we knew his plot to get the Sorcerer's Stone.

            The day of the match, Harry looked like he was going to toss his cookies during breakfast and during Woods' pep talk, which I had to endure anyhow. While they were preparing to go out on the field, Fred was goggling at the crowd.

            "Blimey, the whole school's turned up," said Fred. Oh, like that was going to help. "Even…_Dumbledore_! Dumbledore's come to see the game!" 

            "Dumbledore?" Harry raced to see. I gave a fresh breath of relief. Snape wouldn't dare try anything if Dumbledore was present.

            I walked to the tower and drowned out Jordan's announcements of the game. Katie had become increasingly better since the game against Slytherin, and she wasn't going to go down like last time. She and Alicia scored three times, but my eyes were fixed on Harry.

            I saw a flash of gold, and shot to my feet to watch as Harry went into a dive that could probably match that of a peregrine falcon. He caught it!"

            "POTTER'S GOT THE SNITCH! POTTER'S GOT THE SNITCH!" Lee Jordan yelled, but he was soon drowned out. I flew out past him and McGonagall and hugged Harry with all my might.

            "You did it, Harry!" I grinned. "A hundred eighty to nothing!"

            I felt a hand on my shoulder and saw one on Harry's. We looked up at Dumbledore and grinned.

            "Well done, Harry," he smiled. Then he whispered to Harry. "Nice to see you haven't been brooding over that mirror." He clapped us both on the shoulder and walked back toward the school.

            "Mirror?" I questioned Harry.

            "Long story," he said sheepishly.

            We both made our way toward the locker rooms, while he explained the Mirror of Erised and his Invisibility Cloak.

            "You got one, too?" I blinked at him. "My father sent one for me, too. Uncle Lucius gave it to him for his twelfth birthday, but he didn't have much use for it, without his magic. So he gave it to me for Christmas. Odd, isn't it?"

            "Yeah," Harry nodded. "According to the note, it came from my father."

            We were silent for a moment. The others had already changed and left the locker rooms, and most of the school was back inside the castle. We were alone.

            "Hey, Harry?" I asked reproachfully. "Do you…do you ever dream…dream about what happened? That night?"

            Harry seemed hesitant, but nodded. "A lot, actually."

            "What do you see?" I didn't want to pry, but I also knew that talking about the things that scare you or hurt you can heal you, at least some.

            "I see a load of green light," he said carefully. "And I hear laughter. Two voices, laughing."

            "One high-pitched and one low-pitched?" I asked.

            "Yeah—wait, how did you know?"

            "I think…we just discovered our enemy," I said, thinking. "Get changed. We'll talk about this later. I'll bring you to my dreamscape."

            Harry nodded and walked into the men's side of the locker room, and I went into the women's side. I had a lot to think about.

***     

            However, it seemed that this night was filled with another inquiry to be had. Harry was late in arriving in the hall outside of the Common Room, where Ron had already ranted and raved about the fight he and Neville had had with Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle. 

            "Harry, where have you _been_?" Hermione squeaked, grinning away. Ron started telling him all about the party we were to have in the Common Room, which hadn't quite started yet.

            "Never mind that," Harry said breathlessly. "Let's find an empty room…" 

            Once we found a room lacking any person or ghost, especially Peeves, Harry explained what he'd seen.

            "Snape cornered Quirrell in the forbidden forest," he said. "I think he's trying to win him over to his side. He said something about  where Quirrell's 'loyalty' was. He said something about Quirrell trying to get past Fluffy to get to the Sorcerer's Stone!"

            "So we were right!" Hermione said. "He _is _after the Sorcerer's Stone."

            "And he also said something about Quirrell's 'hocus-pocus' guarding the Stone," Harry added. 

            "So there must be a load of enchantments guarding the Stone, and Quirrell has an Anti-Dark Arts one on the area," I said, connecting dots. "So the Stone's only safe as long as Quirrell stands up to Snape!"

            "It'll be gone by next Tuesday," Ron said grimly.

***

^_^ I know, lotsa stuff that's in the books.


	18. Norbert and Detention

"Wait until you see the whites of their…heat…seeking…organs…never mind." –Bert Gummer, _Tremors the Series_.

Chapter 18: Norbert and Detention

            Weeks passed by, and things didn't change much. Hermione and I began reviewing over all of our notes, especially things that we were having trouble with. We encouraged Harry and Ron to do the same, but they obviously weren't up for the task.

            "You guys, the exams are ten weeks away," Hermione said. 

            "Yeah, that's not as long as you'd like to think," I added. "Besides, if we do end up having to fight Malfoy again, don't you want to be as prepared as possible?"

            That got them both going on every spell they'd learned that could possibly help them. However, they did not study things that would not, such as their Astronomy charts and their Potions.

            We were in the library one day in February, when we saw Hagrid coming out of one of the sections. Harry called to him, and he came over and looked at us warily.

            "You lot aren't still looking up stuff on Flamel, are yeh?" he asked.

            "Oh, no, we found out about him already," Hermione said. 

            "Actually, we were wondering what else Fluffy's guarding, besides the Sor—"

            "SHHH, don't say that!" Hagrid said, his eyes flying open behind his hair and beard. "I can't promise to tell yeh anything, but come by my place this afternoon. Just keep quiet about it!"

            We all nodded.

            "I wonder why he was in the library?" Hermione wondered.

            "I'll check the section he was in," Ron said. He came back a few moments later, carrying a stack of books. "He was looking up dragons!"

            "Why?" I said.

            "Hagrid loves dragons," Harry said. "He wishes he had one. He told me so the first time I met him."

            "But it's against the law to breed dragons," said Hermione. "They're dangerous!"

            "Yeah, you should see the burns Charlie gets off the wild ones in Romania," Ron added. I'd seen some of them myself, and it was not a pretty sight.

            "Then what was Hagrid doing?" I asked.

            We all shrugged.

            That afternoon, we all walked down the strip of green lawn to Hagrid's little hut. He let us in, grudgingly. The moment I reached the door, I was blasted by an immense amount of heat, coming from the huge fire in the grate.

            "I 'spose you wanted to ask me somethin'?" he asked.

            "Yes," said Harry. "We wanted to know what was guarding the Stone, apart from Fluffy." Hagrid gave us all a cup of tea, which I refused politely. I hate tea, with a passion.

            "O' course I can't," Hagrid said. "One, I don' know meself. Two, yeh already know too much. Beats me how yeh even know about Fluffy."

            "Oh, come on, Hagrid," Hermione said, in her silkiest, sweetest, most butter-me-up tone. "You know everything that goes on round here. We only wondered who had _done_ the guarding, really. Who Dumbledore trusted, apart from you, of course."

            "Yeah," I said, following her lead. It was working, because he was grinning away. "Dumbledore knows who he can trust to protect such an important piece of history." That did it.

            "Well, I don' s'pose it would hurt to tell yeh tha'. He got Fluffy from me, o' course," he grinned again. "Then some o' the other teachers did enchantments…Professor Sprout—Professor Flitwick—Professor McGonagall—" He ticked each one off his fingers. "Professor Quirrell—an' Dumbledore himself did something, o' course. Hang on, I've forgotten someone…oh, yeah, Professor Snape."

            "_Snape_?" Harry balked.

            "Yeah—yer not still on abou' that, are yeh? Look, Snape helped _protect_ the Stone, he's not about ter steal it."

            Yeah, right. Snape had already squeezed all the other spells out of the other teachers. The only obstacle left had to be Quirrell, besides, perhaps, Dumbledore's protection. What would Dumbledore have used to protect it, though?

            "You're the only one who knows how to get past Fluffy, right, Hagrid?" Harry asked. "And you wouldn't tell no one, would you?" If I had the mind, I would have scoffed right there. Hagrid had a very loose tongue—a _very_ loose tongue. How else had he let slip that Flamel had something to do with Fluffy?

            "Not a soul knows how, 'cept me an' Dumbledore," said Hagrid proudly. I let out an inner sigh of relief. Maybe his tongue wasn't quite as slippery as I'd thought. He would definitely have remembered letting that sort of information slip out.

            "Hagrid, can we open a window?" asked Harry.

            "Can't, Harry, sorry," Hagrid glanced at the fire. The rest of us did, too, and I stared at it with a fear unlike any other I'd ever known.

            "Hagrid, where'd you get a dragon egg?!" I shrieked. 

            "Won it," he said. "Last night at the pub. I was down for a few drinks and…" I stopped listening.  
            I take it back. Hagrid wouldn't have remembered letting information slip if he was blitzed out of his mind. 

            "What are you going to do once it's hatched?" Hermione was asking.

            "Well, I've bin doin' some readin'," said Hagrid. He pulled out a book. "A bit out of date, but everythin's here. How to care for it…keep it on the fire, cause their mums breath on them, see? And once it's hatched, feed them brandy mixed with chicken blood every two hours. An' here, how ter recognize different breeds. What I have is a—"

            "Norwegian Ridgeback," I said. "Very rare, very dangerous, and very _large_."

            "Hagrid, you live in a _wooden_ house," Hermione said.

            "That dragon's gonna get so big, you'll be more like a snack to him, Hagrid," I said, moaning. "Aren't you worried someone might get hurt? Dragons can't be tamed, Hagrid. Please, you've got to listen!"

            "And wha' if I don't?" Hagrid asked, poking at the fire.

            "Hagrid, Norwegian Ridgebacks have been known to eat their own mothers once they've gotten big enough," I said. "And mothers have been known to eat their own young. They're rare because they usually _eat_ each other before they get the chance to live, Hagrid!"

            Hagrid blinked at me and looked it up in his book. He looked up again, and looked like he was really going to cry. April 1st brought me a few more letters from my parents, my brother, and, surprisingly enough, from Hagrid. I read his first. Only two words were written: _It's hatching_.

            As dangerous as they were, I also knew that a newborn dragon would be most fascinating to watch and help hatch. It wouldn't be completely capable of biting our heads or hands off for at least two weeks, when it's supposed to begin eating on its own. 

            Ron and Harry wanted to skip Herbology to go and see it hatch, and I was tempted as well. Hermione, however, would not hear of it. Soon, she agreed to race over to watch it hatch with Hagrid during the morning break.

            We dropped our trowels as soon as the bell rang, and Hagrid ushered us into the room, saying that it was nearly out. The egg was set upright on the table, deep white cracks all over the thick, black shell. There was a loud scraping noise, and suddenly the baby dragon flopped out onto the table.

            It was black all over, accented with red streaks. It's wings were huge compared to its snake-like body, and the stubs of horns on its head were directly behind bulging orange eyes. It sneezed flame.

            "Isn't he _beautiful_? Hagrid smiled and stroked its nose, receiving a snapping bite and a snort of flames. "Oh, bless him, he knows his mummy."

            "How fast do these things grow?" Hermione asked anxiously.

            "He'll be as big as this house in two weeks," I answered, my eyes locked on the little creature. As evil-looking as he was, he was…cute. I couldn't help but follow Hagrid and try to pet him. He tried to bite me, too, but as I'd read a little more into them, I knew that the trick was to get over his mouth and to his horns. He snorted some more flames, but soon began to purr, much like a cat.

            "Well, isn't that sweet!" I said, scratching him some more. Hagrid, however, was staring at the window.

            "Oh, dear."

            "What is it?" Harry asked.

            "There was a kid at the window. He headed back ter the school," Hagrid said.

            "Malfoy," Ron said, checking.

            "Hagrid, you've got to get rid of him," Hermione pleaded.

            "But…Norbert's jus' a baby!" Hagrid protested. "He'd die!"

            "He's right, 'Mione," I said, still scratching the dragon. "Did you just say _Norbert_, Hagrid?" I would have called it Killer.

            "Yes, isn't it a nice name?" Hagrid smiled.

            "He's lost his marbles," Ron muttered.

            "Charlie," Harry turned to Ron.

            "You've lost it, too," Ron said. "I'm Ron, remember?"

            "No, no, you're brother!" I said, catching on. "He watches dragons, right?"

            "Charlie could take care of him, then set him free in the wild," Harry said.

            "Brilliant!" Ron said. "How about it, Hagrid?"

            "Well…I suppose it's for the best," Hagrid sighed and took over. "I've gotta feed 'im now." We all nodded and walked out. Then we realized we were late for class and ran.

***

            A week passed by. We'd sent Hedwig, Harry's owl, to Charlie, and were waiting for an answer. I think Hedwig was glad to have the chance, she kept looking at Sakura with this sort of smug look, if that sounds plausible. Sakura, meanwhile, was telling my parents and David all about it, but telling them to also keep it quiet. After all, Hagrid was breaking the law.

            Ron came back from Hagrid's, having helped him feed the dragon. It was now eating rats by the crate, and keeping Hagrid from his game-keeping duties. We'd started helping him out a bit, but it was during the night that Hermione and I worked the hardest. We could summon the things up in our sleep, after all. Hagrid was most pleased that we'd recruited Sakura and Syaoran, who were taking lessons in Eastern Magic by day from Eriol (the real one).

            Syaoran especially was happy to help, piling rats on the table for Hagrid to feed to Norbert. Sakura was frightened to go anywhere near the dragon, but was happy to help us keep Hagrid up to date on the game-keeping duties.

            Hedwig came back April 12th, bearing a letter from Charlie. 

            _      Dear Ron,_

_            How are you? Thanks for the letter—I'd be glad to take the Norwegian Ridgeback, but it won't be easy getting him here. I think the best thing will be to send him over with some friends of mine who are coming to visit me next week. Trouble is, the mustn't be seen carrying an illegal dragon._

_            Could you get the Ridgeback to the tallest tower at midnight on Saturday? They can meet you there and take him away while it's still dark._

_            Send me an answer ASAP._

_                  Love,_

_                  Charlie_

We looked at each other.

            "Let's do it," I said. "Send Hedwig back. With two Invisibility Cloaks, it'll be pretty simple. And we can use a Disillusionment Charm on Hagrid, if he wants to come and say good-bye."

            "A Dis-a-what-a?" Harry said.

***

            "The letter will have reached Charlie by now," I said. "I hope his friends will be there. We're risking a lot." It was Saturday at lunch, and Ron had finally come back from the hospital wing, his hand bandaged and swollen, but good enough for him to write again. "With Draco knowing about us getting rid of him, I don't know if we can risk bringin' Hagrid." Charlie's letter had fallen into Draco's hands, via a book of Ron's. Madam Pomfrey hadn't known about it, and Ron hadn't been able to stop it, so we were now in that mess.

            In addition to all that, Quirrell and Snape were still acting strange.

            "Lucky that we're getting rid of him tonight, then," Hermione said. "I don't know how much more Syaoran and Sakura are going to be able to take. They've got the magic lessons during the day, and then they're helping us keep that monster at bay."

            "It's not a monster, 'Mione," I said. "It's the circle of life. Lions and tiger and bears have to eat, and so do dragons. We can't _all_ be intelligent omnivores or herbivores, can we?"

            "I guess you're right," Hermione sighed. "But still."

            "I'm at the end of my rope on this one, too, Angel," Harry said. "I know he's 'just a baby and such', but he's a very dangerous baby."  
            "Why else do you think they _have_ this law?" I asked.

            "Good point," Ron said. "You guys'll have to do it alone. I can't lift anything with this hand." I had to agree there; He'd been writing with his left hand for a long time, and his handwriting was atrocious.

            "Yeah," I nodded. "I've asked Syaoran and Sakura to keep Malfoy at bay. He won't be bothering us." Syaoran and Sakura were going to bring Draco to their dreamscape and make it a nightmare worthy of the boy who needed no sweet dreams.

            At midnight that night, Hermione, Harry, and I made our way down to Hagrid's hut. Syaoran had taken me to his dreamscape for a moment, telling me that he had Draco at bay, before letting me get back to the business at hand.

            "Hagrid, if you want to use a Disillusion Charm, I'd be happy to let you come with us," I said.

            "No," he sobbed. "I want to see him off from here, from my home. I fed him up quite a bit, and he's got some more rats in with 'im." Hagrid was still blubbering as we covered ourselves up with two cloaks. Harry and I had secured them together by tying up the arms, and the cloaks covered us well.

            "Don't worry, Hagrid," I said. "Norbert will never forget you." He'll never forget how he tasted, anyway, I added silently.

            Hagrid sobbed and nodded. He went back into his hut, and I'm sure that he was still crying when we left. Harry carried the left side of the crate and I held the other. Hermione made sure that the cloaks remained secure and covered all four of us.

            I still don't know how we managed it. We passed by McGonagall, in a tartan robe, and Filch and Mrs. Norris, both looking for students out of bed. Peeves kept us a few moments in the hall, as we didn't want him to hear us (as if he would, making all the racket he was), so we were about ten minutes later than midnight. We spotted the four brooms approaching us as we took off the Invisibility Cloaks.

            "Hello, you must be Norbert," said one of the boys, smiling into the cage. "A good-looking fella, you lot sure have kept him good."

            "Thanks, but it was mostly Hagrid," Hermione said. "We just helped him."

            "Did a great bit of research into them, then," said one of the others. "He's in good shape, the right size for his age. You say his birthday's March 1st? We'll be sure to tell Weasley, he loves to celebrate their birthdays."

            "Yeah," said one of them.

            They showed us the harness they'd rigged between them. Hermione, Harry, and I helped them secure Norbert between the four brooms. They thanked us heartily and said to say hello to Ron, then flew off into the night, disappearing with a tap of a wand. 

            Hermione and I worked to take apart the two Invisibility Cloaks, and climbed under mine. Harry pulled his over his head and disappeared. We walked down the stairs and straight into Filch, who was looking all around.

            "You're sure you heard something, sweet?" he asked Mrs. Norris. The cat meowed and climbed up and past us. Hermione and I melded into the wall and I hoped that Harry had as well. Filch climbed up past us, and suddenly, I saw a tuft of black hair. Harry! His cloak was falling off!

            Fortunately, Filch didn't notice, and Harry pulled the cloak back over his head quickly. Hermione and I tiptoed as slowly and quietly as we could down the stairs and finally reached Juniper's portrait.

            "Lily Stars," I breathed the new password. She smiled and swung open, and we ran smack dab into Professor McGonagall. Our cloaks were still on, so she couldn't see us. Could she?

            "Someone is there, I know it," said Professor McGonagall. "You've performed the Disillusionment Charm on yourselves, haven't you. Fred and George Weasley! Show yourselves _right now_!" 

            She thought we were Fred and George! Hermione exchanged a glance with me and we slowly tiptoed into the room and walked past her. She didn't notice. She still thought we were Fred and George.

            Hermione and I exchanged another quick look before making our way slowly and carefully up the stairs. I hoped that Harry had followed our lead.

            "I will talk to you two in the morning, Weasleys!" Professor McGonagall called up the boy's tower. She still thought we were Fred and George, I don't believe it. Hermione and I stopped short and watched the portrait swing open again, and McGonagall stepped out.

            "That has got to be the luckiest strand of luck I've ever had," I whispered. "We are so lucky, it isn't even funny."

            The next morning, I began to consider what to get for my brother's birthday.

            "He's going to be ten this year," I said to Ron and Harry. "What do you guys think I ought to get him? I want it to be something special, he'll be a decade old, you know. And he hasn't seen me, and I mean really seen me, in almost a year."

            Ron and Harry exchanged a glance.

            "A chess set?" Harry suggested.

            "Exploding Snap set?" Ron followed.

            "No, no," I shook my head. "Something _really_ special."

            "Why don't you make something yourself?" Hermione suggested. "Use that new book. Knit him a sweater or something."

            That got me thinking. If I sent him several smaller things, maybe it would be better. And I never had sent back my Cleansweep 7 to him. That Monday, Sakura carried a birthday card especially made for him, with a moving drawing of Harry, Hermione, Ron, and me inside, all wishing him a happy birthday. I also sent a Wizard's chess set (telling him to wait till he got here to use), a blue sweater with a Blue Angel on it (his favorite plane), and a set of wizard's robes made just for him.

            "So when's your birthday?" Hermione asked.

            "The twenty-ninth," I said, smiling. "We were born in the same month. Cool, huh?" Hermione smiled and nodded, but she looked like she was thinking. 

            Hermione and I redoubled our efforts to study, and get Harry and Ron to study with us. We spent most of our time pounding spells, potions, plants, and goblins into our heads, when we weren't in class or practicing for our final match against Ravenclaw.

            Fred and George, though they had sworn that they hadn't been out of bed, had been given a week's worth of detention and docked twenty points each. However, Draco had other plans.

            Harry came racing in to tell us something on Tuesday. Quirrell seemed to have finally broken. We would watch Snape carefully for the next few weeks for any sign of action. At least he didn't know how to get past Fluffy.

            On Wednesday, after Transfiguration had ended, Professor McGonagall asked the three of us to stay after, excluding Ron.

            "An anonymous student has informed me that the three of you were out in the halls on Saturday night," she said, looking at us each firmly. "I want the truth. _Now_." Hermione and I exchanged a look, but Harry jumped in immediately.

            "We were helping Hagrid, Professor," Harry said. "He asked us to help him, but in secret."

            "Why would Hagrid ask you to help him in secret, Potter?" McGonagall asked sharply. "Is this true, Indigo?"

            "Yes, ma'am," I said, looking at my feet. "We're sorry. We didn't want to get Hagrid in trouble. He was hurt, and his game-keeping wasn't what it was supposed to be. And he didn't want to trouble Madam Pomfrey or Headmaster Dumbledore."

            "Well," said McGonagall. "As noble as your intentions were, you were still out of bed. Twenty points each from Griffindor, and detention. Tonight at eleven o'clock. You will join Malfoy and Longbottom. And the next time you let the innocent take the blame for what you've done, I won't be so lenient."

            We all nodded, but wondered exactly how Draco had been caught if he was with Syaoran and Sakura. And why was Neville out there?

            At eleven o'clock, we met Filch in the hall. He started going on about chains and ancient ways of punishments, but I zoned it out. I didn't want to think about what we would be doing. When I saw Hagrid, I decided that perhaps this wouldn't be so bad. Until he announced where we would be going.

            The Forbidden Forest.

            "I'm not going into that forest," Draco said. "There are…things in there. Werewolves, I heard." There was a note of panic in his voice.

            "You will," I growled. "You started this whole mess, you did. You and your father."

            "What?!" he shouted.

            "There'll be no bickering here," said Hagrid, separating us. "Come along, then. No takin' risks. Everyone stick close." He led us into the forest. After a few dozen yards, he pointed to the ground. "Yeh see that silvery stuff there? That's unicorn blood. I found one dead this mornin'. We're looking for this poor bloke, he's hurt, you see. We're going to split here, one group wit' Fang an' the other wit' me. If you see the unicorn, send up green sparks. Get in ter trouble, send up red sparks. Practice here." 

            After a few moments of making sure our wands were working properly, Hagrid split us up.

            "I want Fang," Draco said.

            "Okay," Hagrid shrugged. "Jus' to let yeh know, he's a coward. Neville, Angel, you go with them." I really think he did that just so that I could protect Neville from Draco.

            Neville and me went with Draco and Fang off in one direction. We were silent for several moments.

            "What do you make of this hurt unicorn, Neville?" I asked after a few moments.

            "I-I think it's sad an' all," he said. "But I really wish I w-weren't out here."

            "I know what you mean," I said. "How did you get a detention?"

            "Malfoy told me about the dragon, and I wanted to help you guys," he mumbled. "I'm sorry I caused so much trouble."

            "Nah," I said. "Forget about it. It's not like we didn't deserve it. I mean, we were helping Hagrid hide Norbert in the first place."

            "You mean there really _was_ a dragon?" Neville asked excitedly.

            "Yeah," I grinned. "A Norwegian Ridgeback. Totally awesome, he was black all over. He was a little sweetie when he wasn't trying to naw on our bones."

            Neville gave a weak little laugh and Draco turned around. He was ahead, sticking as close to Fang as possible.

            "Too bad McGonagall didn't believe a single word of it," Draco said. "She seems to think you as capable of lying as I am."

            "At least the entire Griffindor House doesn't hate my guts," I snapped back. "Do you realize even for an instant just how evil you are looked upon by everyone else?" Suddenly, we spotted it. White and gleaming like some brand new white paint on an asylum wall, the unicorn, in all its beauty, lay sprawled and dead upon the ground. I shot a stream of green sparks into the air and waited patiently. 

            Neville began to quiver in fear.

            "What is it?" I whispered.

            "Eyes…" he said, pointing. A pair of bright yellow eyes were glowing on the other side of the clearing. I slumped down, pulling Neville with me. Fang gave a yip and ran off, and Draco followed him. The eyes looked where they had been, which was a few yards away from us, but saw no one else. It knelt down and began to drink the unicorn's silver blood. Neville stared, transfixed in pure terror, and I wasn't much better off. The creature sucked the unicorn nearly dry, its dark cloak barely visible in what little light came through the trees.

            The unicorn depleted of its blood, apparently also of its use, the creature began to come toward us. I bowed down lower in the brush, covering Neville's mouth. He would have screamed if I hadn't. The creature passed by us, paying no attention to either side of it, and headed directly for Hogwarts.

            I don't know how long we stayed there, but what felt like an hour later, I heard Hagrid's feet stomping through the brush.

            "S-S-S-Some-Something...w-was her-here," Neville managed to choke out. He fell back against the tree and fainted dead away.

            "What's he goin' on abou', Angel?" Hagrid asked.

            "I don't know what it was," I shook my head. "Something cloaked in black, with yellow eyes, yellow glowing eyes." I shivered all over. "Draco and Fang ran for it, but we stayed here, right here. It passed us over there. I thought you'd never come!" I sprang up and hugged Hermione. "I'm so glad you're here…" 

            I started crying. I don't know how long I cried, but I was dehydrated by the time they got me to calm down. Hermione just let me cry into her shoulder, as any good friend should.

            "It was that thing that was killing the unicorns," I sniffed, rubbing my eyes. A pounding of hooves suddenly joined us and I turned around, my wand out, ready to fight.

            "Firenze," Hagrid said, holding my arm firmly.

            "Greetings, Hagrid," said the centaur. I knew it was one, only by his man-like head and chest and horse-like body. He turned to me. "The Angel has come to us, then. Venus shines for you." He gave a small bow.

            "What's going on?" Hagrid asked.

            "A creature unknown has entered our forest," said Firenze. "You must leave here. There is nothing you can do for this poor creature."

            Hagrid nodded sadly, looking at the unicorn. 

            "May I have a word with the Potter boy? I will bring him to your hut," said Firenze. Hagrid nodded again. "And Angel. Let the Light guide you with the Dark. The Star will watch you."

            I nodded slowly. Dumbledore had once said the same. I had realized that Sakura had needed it to change the Light and Dark cards. Somehow, I think, those words were meant more for me. Or perhaps, for us all.

***

OOOooh….what's Firenze mean? I love the centaurs!!


	19. Prelude to the Stone

Chapter 19: Prelude to the Stone

            In the Common Room, we sat down and waited for Harry. Hagrid carried Neville, who was still knocked out cold, up to his dormitory, then told us to go to bed after Harry had returned. When Harry did, however, he brought Ron downstairs—half asleep.

            Harry started pacing.

            "Snape wants the Stone…he wants it for Voldemort…Voldemort's waiting in the forest…and all this time we thought Snape just wanted to get rich…"

            "Stop saying the name!" Ron hissed, frightened.

            "Calm down, Harry," I said. "Just…just calm down, okay? Getting excited about it is only going to make it seem worse."

            "Well it _is_ worse!" he yelled.

            "Hush!" I said. "You'll wake up the whole tower." Harry nodded and sat down in the chair in front of us. 

            "But still…this is getting worse, yes," I said. "And what did Firenze mean by that? He said the same thing Dumbledore told me before we left for Japan."

            "I don't know," Harry shook his head. "But we'll have to keep our eyes on Snape. The minute he looks like he's gonna steal the stone, we'll go to Dumbledore."

            I didn't like that plan at all, but I did not voice my opinions.

***

            Syaoran and Sakura also did not have much to say about it. They were worried, yes, but they were more concerned with what Firenze had told me than anything else. Even as I woke up the next morning, I was wondering exactly what they had meant.

            Our exams were to start that May 4th, and Hermione and I were ready to tackle them with vigor. Harry and Ron were still trying to cram stuff into their head from Potions. I don't think they ever considered how fast the exams came upon us.

            It was hot, sweltering hot. The rooms were cooled by enormous blocks of ice inside tubs even larger than the ice, but it was still warm enough to make us all sweat. We took our tests with special quills with an Anti-Cheating spell on them, courtesy of Professor Flitwick.

            Then the practical exams began. Tap-dancing pineapples and mice-turned-snuffboxes and the Forgetfulness Potion danced away at our memories, and our grades worried us all. 

            Harry seemed worried, but I couldn't do much to assuage his fears. There wasn't much anyone could do until the exams were over, really. History of Magic was the last one. The last one, and then we'd be free, free to visit with each other until the train came to take us home.

            Hermione and I were both relieved to find that the History of Magic tests weren't nearly as grueling as the others had been. Old Binns probably was still using the same one he had when the last goblin revolt had come about. Something was still bothering Harry, though. He kept saying that there was something he'd forgotten, and I didn't blame him at all. He wasn't really in the best of moods, considering all that we'd already survived and found out. I think he was still worried about what Snape might try.

            Sure enough, Harry leaped to his feet and took off out of the Common Room, his steps almost too fast to keep stride with.

            "Where are we going?" Ron asked. He'd been on the verge of taking a nap when it'd happened, so he was very tired.

            "I've just thought of something," Harry said, redoubling his speed. Hermione had to jog to keep up, but Harry's ashen face made him look deathly ill. "We've got to go see Hagrid. _Now_."

            "What?" I said. 

            "Why?" Hermione asked.

            "Don't you think it a bit odd," he explained, huffing a little in his effort. "That the one thing Hagrid always wanted was a dragon, and—"

            "Oh, I'm sure lots of people want dragons for pets," I said sarcastically. "I'd love to have one following me around, biting my hand, breathing fire. Must make great marshmallows, dragon's breath."

            "—And a stranger just happens to turn up with a rare dragon egg in their pocket?" Harry pressed. "How many people walk around with dragon eggs in their pockets, if it's against wizard law? Lucky they found Hagrid, don't you think? Why didn't I see it before?"

            "What?" I said. "What didn't you see before?"

            "Hullo," Hagrid greeted us, grinning. "Finished yer exams? Have time for a drink?"

            "Yes, please," Ron jumped in.

            "No, thanks, Hagrid," Harry said, sending a glance at the red-haired boy. "I've got something to ask you. The night you won Norbert, what did the stranger look like?"

            "Dunno," Hagrid shrugged. "He wouldn' take his cloak off. You get a lo' of strange folks in the Hog's Head—that's the pub's name."

            "Did he ask you about Hogwarts?" Harry asked. Suddenly, I caught on. Harry thought Hagrid might have let the secret to Fluffy out!

            "Did he offer you a lot of drinks?" I asked. 

            "Y-Yes, ter both," he said, blinking. He looked as if he were trying to remember the events of that night. Hagrid babbled on about telling the stranger about his game-keeping duties, and what sort of creatures he took care of. "Then he said he had a dragon egg, and asked if I wanted to play cards fer it…he asked if I'd be up to it, and I tol' him, after Fluffy, a dragon would be easy—"

            "And did he—did he seem interested in Fluffy?" Harry asked calmly, but I could sense an edge of panic behind his words. Apparently Harry knew how slippery-tongued Hagrid was, especially when he had a few drinks. 

            "Well—yeah," said Hagrid, looking at him as if he'd grown another head. "How many three-headed dogs do ya meet, even around Hogwarts? So I told him, Fluffy's a piece o' cake if yeh know how to calm him down, jus' play him a bit o' music and he'll go straight ter sleep—uh-oh."

            He suddenly looked horrified, but we were already moving.

            "We've got to go to Dumbledore," said Harry. "Hagrid told that stranger how to get past Fluffy, and it was either Snape or Voldemort."

            "Neither prospect good," I said. We were in the dark and gloomy doorway of the school, both looking at each other, lost. 

            "What are you four doing inside?" Professor McGonagall had appeared.

            "We'd like to see Professor Dumbledore," Hermione said, rather bravely.

            "Wh-Why on Earth for?" Professor McGonagall said.

            "We wanted to talk to him about perhaps organizing a team to put together a map for next year's first years," I said, coming up with a story fast. It seemed plausible to me, and Professor McGonagall bought it. However, she had some extremely bad news.

            "I'm afraid Professor Dumbledore left ten minutes ago," she said gravely. "He received an urgent message from the Ministry of Magic. You can talk to him in tomorrow, when he comes back." She walked off, carrying her great load of books.

            "Dumbledore's _gone_?" Hermione shrieked. 

            "Snape must've done it," Ron said.

            "Without a doubt," Harry agreed. "It's tonight. Snape's going for it tonight. We've got to go to the trapdoor and try to get inside."

            Snape, however, had popped up, catching us unawares. He sent us off outside and watched us like a hawk for a long time, until dinner. We were then told that all students were to go to bed early that night, to get rid of the exam jitters and such.

            Harry, on the other hand, had other plans.

            "I'm going tonight," he whispered to us. "I'll get the Stone before Snape does, or I'll tear it from his hands. He can't make the Elixer of Life without certain Potions ingredients, right?"

            "Right," I nodded, having done extensive research on the topic.

            "I'll go under my cloak," he said.

            "Can you take Ron with you?" I asked. "It'll be a tight fit with three of us under mine."

            "What?" Harry blinked.

            "What, you think you're going to leave us behind?" Hermione asked. 

            "We're coming, too, mate," Ron grinned. 

            Snape, however, changed our plans. We had decided to "turn in" early, in hopes of just waiting outside the portrait door, but that didn't work.

            "Okay, Hermione and Angel, you go and tail Snape," Harry said. "Ron and I'll go to the trapdoor and play a song or something for Fluffy. Once the coast is clear, you come to the room, too."

            Hermione and I nodded. We walked up to the High Table, where Snape was finishing his dinner. Hermione wanted to speak with Professor Flitwick, anyhow. I was still remembering the fact that Snape had once been nice to me when he asked what I was doing there.

            "I-I'm waiting for Hermione," I said quickly, pointing to her. She was talking animatedly to Flitwick. "She wanted to discuss some of her test questions with him, sir."  
            "Hmm," he nodded and walked past me. I watched him as closely as I could, hoping Hermione would wrap it up with Flitwick soon. She came over, a sort of flushed grin on her face, and we walked as innocently as we could while keeping our speed. We caught a glimpse of Snape heading for the dungeons—far away from the trap door.

            "Let's go," I said. "I don't think we'll have to worry about him for a while." I pulled the Invisibility Cloak over our heads, and we took off.

            "Yeah," Hermione nodded, still grinning.

            "What did Flitwick say, anyway?" I asked.

            "Well, he told me to tell you, too, so…" she grinned wider as we ran, fueling my curiosity. "Our scores were tied for the highest in our class. Above everyone else, even the Ravenclaws. 115 percent, can you believe that?"

            "With all the studying we did, I ain't surprised," I grinned. "We got everything, including extra-credit?" She nodded, still grinning.

            When we came to the trapdoor, we weren't grinning anymore. Fluffy was out cold, a bewitched harp playing a soft lullaby. Harry and Ron were peering into the dark square, arguing.

            "You did tail Snape, right?" Harry said.

            "Yeah, he was going completely the other way!" I ran up toward the hole. "Either he's really fast, learned how to bypass the Apparating Anti-Charm, or we are blaming the wrong dude."

            "I'd take the former," Ron said.

            "Either way, he's in there already," I said. "We've got to go after him. Let's go. Leave the cloaks here, I don't think Fluffy's going to wake up any time soon." Harry nodded, uncertainly, and we placed the cloaks in the corner. Ron looked down in the hole and gulped, loud enough for us to hear.

            "After you, Ron," Harry said. Ron nodded, though not happy with going first, and jumped in. He shouted up that there was some plant that gave a really light landing, and Harry, Hermione, and I jumped in after him. However, we heard a voice call down to us.

            "What are you doing?"

            "Neville, get out of here!" I shouted up. 

            "You're going to lose more points for Griffindor, aren't you?" he accused us.

            "No, we're going to save the stupid planet, now get going before someone spots you!" I said. 

            "Save the planet?" Neville asked. "What are you doing?"

            "You'll find out soon, Neville, now please, _please_!" I was close to begging. "Go back to the tower! Send an owl to Professor Dumbledore, tell him something's wrong. Tell him it's about the Sorcerer's Stone!"

            "The Sorcerer's Stone? What's that?" Neville asked.

            "Did you know you ask too many questions?!" I asked hysterically, and I felt Hermione and Ron and Harry trying to hold me down. "Get _going_!" He nodded and ran off. 

            "Angel…" Hermione said, her voice a warning crescendo. She was not beneath me. I looked down, and in the gloom of the light, I saw long, black, plant-like tethers binding me, all the way up to my neck. It had begun to squeeze me to death. I looked around. Harry and Ron were also tightly bound, and Ron was looking slightly blue.

            "It's Devil's Snare," Hermione said weakly. "It likes the cold and damp…"

            "So make a fire!" I said.

            "But there's no wood…" Hermione wrung her hands.

            "Mione," I said slowly, carefully. "Think. What are you? And what are you carrying?"

            "Oh. Right," Hermione whipped out her wand, and several plumes of flame shot out and landed all around Ron, me, and Harry, ending with herself. The plant dropped us onto the hard stone floor below.

            "Lucky we landed on the plant, he says," Harry said, glaring at Ron.

            "Like I knew it was going to try to choke us all to death?" Ron said, looking grumpy.

            "We're out of it, thanks to Hermione," I said. "Let's move on."  
            "Lucky Angel didn't lose her head when we were being choked to death," Ron retorted. "'There's no wood', my—"

            "Ronald!" I said. "We're through it! It's done! Let's move on with our lives, please!"

            "Ronald? Since when do you use my full name?" Ron said.

            By then we'd come to the end of the hallway, where we heard a loud rushing sound, like a thousand butterflies flying at once. It turned out to be a billion keys instead.

            "Keys?" I said.

            "They must be for the door," Harry said, pointing to the door opposite the one we'd entered.

            "Will they try to hurt us if we cross the room, though," I said. When David was younger, he used to throw things at me—but metal was his favorite. Keys even more so. They _hurt_.

            We decided to try it anyway. We crossed unscathed, but found the door locked.

            "Yeah, like he's gonna leave it unlocked," I muttered. "How are we supposed to get to them? They're all the way up there!"

            "On those!" Ron said, pointing. There were several broomsticks set up against the one wall.

            "Harry, Angel, you've got to get up there," Hermione said. 

            "What key are we looking for?" I asked, grabbing a broom. There were only two.

            "Old fashioned, probably silver," Ron answered. Since when was he an expert on locks?

            "That one," Harry pointed to one with a broken wing. It was obvious that it had been caught in a hurry. I mounted my broom, but Harry was already after the key. That was when the keys began to attack him.

            "Harry!" I called up. "I'll draw the keys away, you try to catch the key we need!" He nodded and I rose up into the storm of keys. I flew around, catching as many of them as I could to keep them simply out of the air. The keys all chased after me, thinking that I had the key, giving Harry time to get it.

            "You guys unlock it!" I called down. "Harry and I will keep them at bay while you get through the door!"

            Sheepishly, however, I realized that the keys had already stopped chasing us. They had once Harry had caught the key. I landed on the stone floor, my face bright red. Hermione left the door open, so that we could get out of there just as easily.

            "What do we do now?" Harry asked. I had walked into a dark room, and saw nothing for a few moments. Joining Hermione and Ron, the four of us gaped around the room.

            "Isn't it obvious?" Ron said. "We've got to play our way across the room."

            "P-Play?" I stuttered. "Play _Wizard's Chess_ across a _room_?! D'you see the size of these men? You see 'em? We could get killed!"

            "We could be killed by Snape anyway," Harry said. "Ron, you're best at chess. You direct us."

            Tight-lipped and uncertain, I nodded. Ron took the place of one of the knights, and I took the place of one of the castles. Hermione took the other one, and Harry became a bishop.

            "Okay," I said, hyperventilating. "Ready when you are, Ron." 

            He nodded, and started up the game by moving himself. He took a lot of risks with himself, but didn't risk any of us, which left him little room to spare. Soon, it came down to the four of us, our king, our queen, and one pawn. On the other side, the queen, two pawns, and the king. 

            I realized what Ron was doing.

            "Ron!" I shouted. "What are you doing? You'll get hurt!"

            "It's chess," he answered back, quite bravely, I might add. "You have to make some sacrifices."

            "Wha-What?" Hermione said. "What's he doing, Angel?"

            "He's going to sacrifice himself so Harry can checkmate the king," I said, swallowing the bitter bile that had risen in my throat. The white queen struck him from the black horse upon which he rode, and he was knocked out. Hermione cried out, but didn't move. Harry took that last step forward and the white king was defeated. 

            The white pieces parted. I glanced back to see Ron, out cold. He was breathing, I could tell. He wasn't dead. It put a second stride in my step, and I followed Harry and Hermione as fast as I could 

            "What do you think we have next?" I asked cheerfully. "A dragon? A troll? Perhaps a giant, even!"

            "Stop it, Angel," Hermione said, rubbing her elbows. 

            "Sorry," I said. "What do you think Quirrell would be brave enough to put in there, though?"

            We walked through the door and saw a troll, knocked out cold.

            "A troll…" I muttered. "Why would Quirrell put a troll as his protection?"

            "I don't know," Hermione shook her head. "Let's get out of here."  
            "I can't breath," Harry agreed and pulled open the next door.

            The last room held a table, a sheet of simple parchment, and nine differently shaped bottles. As soon as we were past the threshold of the room, a purple fire lit our way back and a black one led the way forward. Hermione read the paper, and grinned.

            "This isn't magic—it's logic," she said. "It's a simple game."

            "Too bad I was always horrible at logic," I muttered.

            "I'm not," Hermione said. "Let's see. Two of them will let you into the next room, and two will lead you back. Two are filled with wine and three are poison. The four we need are of equal size and shape."

            There were indeed four tiny round bottles.

            "These two," she pointed at the first two. "Will lead into the next room. And these two lead back."

            "There's only a mouthful in each bottle," I said, blinking. "Even if two of us go forward and one back, we won't all be able to go either way. One will still be left here."

            "Neville's gone to get Dumbledore, but I'm not sure he'll keep quiet," Harry said. "Hermione, you take Ron and go help Neville. Send Hedwig out, and get Professor McGonagall."

            "Tell her what's really going on," I told her carefully. "She'll want to know."

            "Okay," Hermione nodded, but her lip was trembling. "Angel… Harry… what if You-Know-Who's with him?"

            "I was lucky once," Harry grinned. "Maybe I'll get lucky again."

            "But…oh…Harry!" she flung herself around his neck and hugged him tightly. I smiled.

            "_Hermione_!" Harry looked at her, bewildered.

            "Angel," Hermione hugged me too. She let go and looked between us. "Just promise me you'll both be careful. Okay?"

            "We promise, Hermione," Harry and I said in unison. Hermione drank a little of the back potion.

            "Well…take care…"

            "GO!" 

            Hermione walked straight through the purple fire.

            "Well, you ready?" I asked, taking a deep breath myself. I pulled out my wand and held the small bottle to my lips. 

            "Yeah," he did the same.

            The potion felt like a million shards of ice had just crawled down my esophagus. I looked at the black flames, paused, then pushed through them, perfectly okay. Harry followed.      

            We saw the backs of the two people that neither of us were expecting. Neither were Snape. Neither were Voldemort. I recognized one almost immediately from the large purple turban. I did not recognize the other.

***

Who is this other person? Why is he in the chamber with Quirrell (C'mon, you know that stupid turban)? 


	20. Part One Concluded

            The one I recognized was Professor Quirrell. I knew I'd never liked him or trusted him. No wonder he'd never taught us anything worthwhile in class.

            "_You_!" Harry wasn't quite as surprised as I was. 

            "Me," he said, calmly, as if we were talking about the weather. "I wondered if I would meet the two of you here. Dumbledore insisted on adding another bottle when Snape made his little logic problem."

            "It was you, all along, then," I growled. "You're the one who's working for Voldemort."

            "So the little halfling figured out my Master's name," he grinned, his usually over-bright and over-cheerful eyes twisting in madness. "Have you met my partner? I believe he's related to you."  
            "Hello, Angel," said the boy. "Long time no see." He had familiar white-blond hair, and had the blue eyes that I couldn't quite place.

            "Who're you?" I said between my clenched teeth. 

            "No, I don't suppose that git of a father ever told you about little old me, did he?" said the boy. "My name is Matthew Timothy Indigo. I'm your brother. Two years your senior."

            "My…my brother?" I blinked rapidly and shook my head like a dog. "You can't be my brother. My parents would never birth a monster who would serve Voldemort."

            "A monster, you say?" he walked a few steps closer. "For a writer, your choice of words seems limited. Perhaps our younger brother can give you a better word."

            "David is _not_ your brother," I snarled, my hands fisting at my sides. "And my writing has nothing to do with my speech."

            "It's too bad they didn't see eye-to-eye with me," Matthew said, stepping closer. He was now two feet from me. "When my Master comes back to his full glory they will regret it."

            "Voldemort will _never_ come back to his _full_ power," I said, grinning. "If not Dumbledore, then I myself will make certain of that."

            "Foolish banter, girl," said Quirrell. "You will not live to see the glorious day that our Master returns to his throne. You will both die tonight." He snapped his fingers, and long tendrils of impenetrable rope snaked from his fingers, binding Harry and I together, our backs facing each other.

            "You're both far too nosy," Quirrell said. "Sneaking around on Halloween like that. For all I knew, you'd seen me come down the third floor corridor."

            "_You_ set the troll in?" Harry said.

            "Of course," Quirrell said. "I have a way with them. Did you see the one I took care of out there? Snape guessed my intentions and went to head me off that night. Not only did my troll fail to kill you, but that three-headed dog didn't even bite Snape's leg off properly.

            "Now lay there quietly while I try and figure out this riddle. Matt, watch them."

            "It'd be my pleasure," said Matt. "I haven't seen my little sister since she was three years old. I will love to see her scream again."

            "Three?" I blinked rapidly.

            "I came to visit, once," said Matt, grinning. "Five years old, and I already knew a great deal of the Dark Arts. Father thought I was Draco Malfoy come to call—foolish man couldn't even recognize his own son. He kicked me out the moment he found out my true identity."

            "I bet he saw right through you," I snarled, trying to fruitlessly break the magical ropes. "I bet he saw your true colors the moment he knew you weren't Draco."

            Now I knew where I'd seen that white-blond hair and those cold, ice-blue eyes. Draco's eyes, the same as my grandfather's, Uncle Lucius's, Draco's, and David's. That small fact did nothing to console me. It meant that there was no doubt about it. As much as I hated to admit it, Matt was my brother.

            Strangely enough, Dumbledore's voice echoed in my head at that moment. It was the thing he said to all of us that I recalled right then. Not, as one might think, the one he'd said to me personally.

            "Daijoubu desu," I whispered to myself. "I'll be all right." 

            The ropes that bound me were suddenly loose. They weren't completely thrown off, of course. It was just loose enough for Harry and I to slip out of.

            "What happened?" Harry whispered as quietly as he could in my ear.

            "Dumbledore's spell," I whispered back. "Daijoubu desu." The ropes slackened just a fraction more. Still, Matt didn't notice.

            "Making a little _plan_, are we?" he asked, a wand tapping in his hand. "It won't work, you know. My master—"

            "Is not here," I said boldly. "He'll never come to power again, I know it. My friends are right now getting Dumbledore, and he'll come down here and—"

            "I think not," said Matt coolly. "And you're wrong about the Dark Lord. He's in this very room, at this very moment."

            "What?"

            "Ask…the boy…" said a disembodied voice. It hissed and quarreled with itself, as though the person behind it was deathly ill. I felt no pity for that evil, evil voice. The moment I heard it, my insides became cold as ice.

            "Potter!" Quirrell released the ropes from Harry and I both and grabbed the sleeve of Harry's robes, shoving him toward a mirror. I hadn't had time to notice it, but now that I saw it, I was mystified. It had writing on the side, in some ancient language I could not read. Harry, however, stared into the mirror, as though what he saw was something amazing.

            "What does this mirror do?" I asked out of pure curiosity. It is amazing how one acts when one has nothing to lose and everything to gain.

            "It's none of your business," Matt snarled, yanking me back by the scruff of my robes.

            "Matt," said Quirrell. "Could you go and make certain that no one is coming?"

            "Certainly," Matt released my robes and strode out. Thank goodness, I did not have to see his face again. At least, for a time.

            "What do you see?" asked Quirrell impatiently, turning back to Harry.

            "I'm holding the Quidditch Cup," said Harry. I could sense a hint of a lie under it. "Griffindor's won the House Cup."

            "He _lies_!" said the hissing voice again. It's high-pitched, and Harry's scar looks like it changed color for just an instant. "Grab him! Take them both! He's got the Stone!"

            "Angel, run!" shouted Harry and we both took off. Not before, however, Quirrell grabbed Harry's right shoulder and my left shoulder. Quirrell's grip remained on mine, but at the moment of contact to Harry's shoulder, Quirrell's hand began to crumble and disappear in a wind that didn't exist.

            "What's…happening…?" Quirrell stared at his hand, his left still clamped firmly on my shoulder. I tried to get away, but Quirrell was unhurt by me, so he grappled me tighter into his grip. I once again found myself, even more tightly, bound in the magical ropes. 

            Quirrell made a grab for Harry and succeeded. He'd stood too long trying to get to me. It made me smile inside to know that Harry would be caught because he couldn't leave me behind.

            Harry, however, was not caught. Quirrell's skin blackened and crumbled again. Realizing his power of skin-to-skin destruction, Harry reached out and touched Quirrell's face. In an explosion of light, the raspy, hissing voice came out.

            "You may have defeated me this time, _Potter_!" shouted the voice. "But I will gain my full glory again!"

            "Daijoubu desu!" I said, climbing out of the ropes. "Harry! Harry!"

            "Indigo…" the voice, which wasn't quite as disembodied anymore, said. It was coming from a floating head of misty copper. I knew who that was. Even without him telling us, I knew who it was. Voldemort.

            "I shall have my revenge!" Voldemort shouted at the top of his…er…lungs. "You haven't seen the last of the wrath of Lord Voldemort. You shall see, both of you."

            "You won't!" I shouted back. "You wo—"

            He started screaming at the top of his…er…lungs, again and the bodiless head of Voldemort soared out of the room. Not without passing through both Harry and I. The last thing I saw before my world went black was the amethyst-like Sorcerer's Stone, still clutched in Harry's hand.

***

            The first thing I saw when I came to was a glint of gold and a blur of black darker than my closed eyelids. Harry? Not just Harry, though. Harry's glasses weren't gold, they were…black, I think. My head swam in pain, and I moaned as the light seeped at last into my eyes.

            "Good evening, Angel," said Professor Dumbledore, smiling.  If Harry and he were both smiling down at me, then the Stone must be safe. Maybe Dumbledore had it inside one of his many inner pockets.

            "Morning," I mumbled, rubbing my forehead. "How long I been out?"

            "Four days," Harry said promptly, still grinning.

            "Tha' long?" I sat up, shaking my head roughly. "What's been goin' on?"

            "Plenty," Harry said, rolling his eyes.

            "The Stone? What's Flamel gonna do with it?"

            "It's already been destroyed," said Dumbledore with a smile. "I heard you discovered the power of 'Daijoubu desu'."

            "Did I?" The scenes in the dungeons played back to me. "Ron okay? Hermione? Sakura? Hedwig? Neville? Voldemort?"

            "All fine, with the exception of Lord Voldemort," chuckled Dumbledore.

            "What about Matthew?" I asked grumpily, suddenly remembering the fiend who had called himself my brother. Dumbledore shook his head sadly.

            "He escaped as quickly as Voldemort. Though, I'm certain they were separated," Dumbledore said. "If Voldemort is continuously delayed in his return, as you have proved, he may never come back, Angel."

            "Can I ask you something?"

            "Perhaps."

            "I want to know the truth, now," I took a deep breath. "This wasn't all just a coincidence, I've found out. But is there any reason why _I_ was the one you stressed Daijoubu desu and the other spell on? Why not Harry, or Hermione?"

            "Alas, I cannot tell you," said Dumbledore. "It seems you both want answers from me that I cannot give." His blue eyes twinkled in Harry's direction. 

            "Sir… why was it that you asked Professor Snape to add another bottle to his line of potions?"

            "I found it quite difficult to reach the Stone myself," said Dumbledore, smiling. "I wanted an extra way."

            "Ah…one more, sir…maybe you can answer this for me…why did my father give up his entire wizarding future for two children, one of which never came to Hogwarts?"

            "That is one question that you must ask your father," said Dumbledore. "Though, I personally think that he simply did not want to be a wizard. With the name of Malfoy following him everywhere, a name detested in his own House, who would?"

            "Sir…just one more question," I said. "What House was my father in?"

            "As strange as you may think it, your father was in Hufflepuff," laughed Dumbledore. "Now, enough questions. I see Harry has already made quite a dent in the sweets provided by your friends and classmates."

            I laughed and nodded.        

***

            "PLEASE, Madam Pomfrey, fifteen minutes, please!" I roared across the hospital wing. I was completely better, but she refused to let me outta the place. Harry still had a whopping headache, but other than that, he was fine. I was making it worse, I knew, but I wanted to see Hermione and Ron.

            "Harry! Angel! We were so…Dumbledore was so…oh, it's good to see you!" Hermione flung her arms around my neck, and looked about ready to do the same to Harry. Ron held her back.

            "I know, I know," I said, grinning. "What happened after you left, 'Mione? Syaoran hasn't come into any of my dreams, nor Sakura, and you—"

            "Dumbledore told me not to," Hermione said, looking sheepish. "He said to tell Syaoran the same thing."

            "What?" I scoffed. "Why?"

            "He wanted you to have your rest," Hermione said, trying to sooth me. She wasn't doing a very good job.

            "Hmph," I crossed my arms over my chest. "I'm perfectly fine. I don't even have the headache Harry does."

            "Anyway, you _have_ to come to the feast," Ron said. "The points are in now, and of course, Slytherin won. We were steamrolled by Ravenclaw without you two."

            "I wouldn't have been much good, even if Pomfrey had let me out," I said, pursing my lips. "I'm a terrible Seeker."

            "You've had your fifteen minutes," Madam Pomfrey said testily as she stalked back to us. "OUT!"  
***

            I was asleep when Harry asked Madam Pomfrey if we could go to the feast. I knew he asked because I had told him to before falling asleep. Though I'd had plenty of sleep since entering the hospital wing, I tended to sleep in. I was beginning to think Pomfrey slipped a sleeping draught in my food.

            I was awoken the morning of the feast by a loud bellow of "VOLDEMORT!". I snapped awake, but didn't move. I was facing in the opposite direction of Harry's bed.

            "I saw him, Hagrid, and I'm saying his name," Harry said, obviously continuing his conversation with Hagrid. Cheer up, have a Chocolate Frog. Angel and I got loads."

            "Oh, that reminds me," said Hagrid. "I got yeh a present. I got Angel one, too, but since she's asleep…" A ruffle of his clothes told me he was looking for something in his coat again. I pretended to have just woken up, yawning and sitting up slowly.

            "Mornin', Harry," I said, blinking. "Oh, hello, Hagrid. What brings you here?"

            "I brought you two a present," said Hagrid, smiling. His eyes were red and puffy, and his beard wet. I took note and decided to ask Harry later. "Ah, here's one o' them…this one's fer you, Angel."

            He handed me a tiny white box, simple and held closed with Spellotape. Hagrid continued to search for the present for Harry, but I carefully un-Spellotaped the box, paying little attention to Hagrid's rather noisy search.

            Inside the box was a charm bracelet, silver chain-link with nine charms connected to it. The first one to catch my eye was a tiny silver pistol. On the bottom, engraved in what I recognized as my father's handwriting, was a strange name, written in Japanese romanji. It said _Ookami_.

            "It was yer dad's, strangely enough," said Hagrid, his beard twitching. "Just before he left Hogwarts, he gave it ter me. Said to give it ter 'anyone bearing the name Indigo.'"

            "These charms…were all the nicknames of my dad's friends here at Hogwarts, aren't they?" I asked, touching each one.

            A tiny dog, engraved with _Padfoot_. A little horse, regal and beautiful, engraved with _Prongs_. _Moony_ was engraved on a miniature moon. A rat, smaller than the rest, said _Wormtail_. _Snivellus_ was printed neatly on a poised snake. _Ice_ was scripted on another, loosely twisting snake, slightly larger than _Snivellus_. _Red_ was on tiny electrical plug. Finally, a three-headed dog, similar very much to Fluffy, bore the name of _Cerberus_.

            "Not exactly," said Hagrid. "Some o' them was jus' related ter him. Ah! There's the little bludger." He pulled a large, leatherbound book from an inner pocket and gave it to Harry. "Sent owls off ter your parents old school friends. Asked for pictures…knew you didn't have any…D'ya like it?"

            Harry seemed very much lost for words.

            When Harry and I made our way down to the feast, slightly late because Madam Pomfrey had been sort of fussy over us, we were quiet. We had spent the remainder of the day looking at all the pictures of Harry's parents and friends from those years so long ago.

            The Great Hall fell silent as Harry and I walked in. Immediately, the room became noisy once again. People stood up at the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables to see us, but I ignored them. Harry squeezed between Hermione and Ron, and I sat down on the other side of Hermione, next to Neville.

            The entirety of the Great Hall was decorated with green banners with silver snakes. There was a particularly large one behind the High Table. Dumbledore walked into the room and everyone fell silent.

            "Another year gone!" said Dumbledore with a smile. "And I must trouble you with an old man's wheezing waffle yet again. What a splendid year it has been! Hopefully your heads are a little fuller than they were. Don't worry, you've the whole summer to empty them again…

            "I believe the House Cup needs awarding, then," Slytherins cheered. "In fourth place, Griffindor House with 283 points. In third, Hufflepuff with 410 points. In third, Raveclaw with 460 points. And Slytherin with 492."

            The Slytherins cheered sickeningly louder than ever before. My dear, sweet cousin stomped the floor and banged his gold goblet against the table. It made my stomach turn.

            "However, recent events must be taken account of," said Dumbledore. Suddenly, things were very, very silent. "There are points to be awarded still yet. The first…goes to Mr. Ronald Weasley, for the best-played chess game that Hogwarts has ever seen. Fifty points."

            Ron's ears went dark grape, and the rest of his face was dark radish red. Percy could be heard shouting about Ron being his brother, and the Griffindors roared in rejoicing approval.

            "Another fifty points to Ms. Hermione Granger, for the use of cool logic in the face of fire…"

            Hermione buried her face in her arms. I was certain she was crying under all that hair, but I couldn't quite tell.

            "To Mr. Harry Potter and Ms. Angel Indigo—" the room fell deathly silent. "For outstanding courage and nobility, I award them each fifty points."

            To those who could add (I had to get Hermione's help—I'm terrible at math), they were screaming out the score, to which the rest of the Griffindor table was screaming, too. If only he'd given a point more to each of us…

            "There is one last thing," Dumbledore continued when the cheering died down. "A young man informed me of circumstances that I had no control over. He gave me vital information, which led to the preservation of four of our students. I award Neville Longbottom…ten points."

            There was a gigantic explosion of atomic proportions in the Hogwarts Great Hall. No Griffindor, Hufflepuff, or Ravenclaw (for they had wanted someone other than the Slytherins to win) was not cheering at the top of their lungs, albeit several were holding their ears at the noise. When the explosion finally died down to human hearing levels, several of the teachers were smiling, but none so wide as Professor McGonagall.

            "In that case, I do think this is cause for a change in decoration," said Dumbledore, who clapped loudly. Red and gold and lions replaced green and silver and serpents. Draco looked close to tears. Hermione was crying. I don't think one person at that table wasn't cheering. Neville was smothered in hugs from all angles, and his smaller frame was devoured for at least half an hour.

            At last, the feast began. With a hearty grin, cheerful laugh, and a full stomach, I laid down to sleep in my familiar bed. And told Syaoran and Sakura all of the exciting details, Hermione, Ron, and Harry inserting comments all along the way.

***

            The next morning, a day before we would head home, we received our exam results. I was relieved to see that I had tied with Hermione for the top grade in every class, with the exception of Potions and History of Magic. I had topped her in Potions and she'd topped me by two points in History of Magic.

            As crazy as it sounds, even Goyle has passed. Neville's Herbology class ranked with Hermione's and mine, which made up for his extremely low score in Potions. Everyone in History of Magic had passed quite by the skin of their toes.

            The single, last day went by so fast, I was sure someone had magically bewitched time to speed up.

            "You know," said Hermione. "We never did get around to making our cards in Eastern Magic, Angel."

            "You're right!" I said, blinking. "I wonder why Kinomoto didn't teach us it."

            "We only had him half the time we did before," said Hermione. "Maybe he'll teach us next year."  
            "Hope so," I said. We broke apart and began to pack our trunks neatly together. I still had several of the candy presents people had given me during my stay in the hospital wing. 

            "You want any of this, 'Mione?"

            "You just don't want to carry it," Hermione laughed.

            "Nope, got that right," I grinned. "Still, don't you want your parents to try some Chocolate Frogs and Every Flavor Beans?"

            "Sure, Angel," Hermione said. I gave her half of my candy, which she packed neatly away. She bewitched her trunk to be lighter, then showed me how to do the same thing.

            "It'll get heavier when I put another thing in it, right?" I asked.

            "It'll get heavier again in about a week," said Hermione regretfully. "And we can't do magic, so we can't redo it. When we come back."

            "I _know_," I rolled my eyes. "I can't believe they won't let us practice at all."

            "Just because we can't practice—"

            "—Doesn't mean we can't read up," I finished, grinning. At last, all of my robes and hat, and books, and wand, and broom, was all packed away. I placed a pair of jeans and a T-shirt on top of the rest, so I could change sooner. Sakura was away on yet another transatlantic flight, and would return to the Weasleys soon.

            The train ride home was even shorter than ever, and we hardly had time to talk. Draco dropped in and told me that he would see us next year, very angrily indeed. I bought no snacks from the little cart, but Harry bought so many, I thought he was saving up for a nuclear explosion, not a summer at home.

            Soon, I saw why. We had just gone through the bewitched wall at Platform 9 ¾, carrying our trunks and greeting Molly and Ginny, who was very excited to see Harry. A large man with a short neck and a beet red face met Harry there.

            "Ready, are you?" he asked so stiffly, I thought maybe he had a bug up his nose. "Come on, we haven't got all day." Then he stalked off.

            "Man, Harry, that guy's bad, bad news," I shook my head. "Feel right sorry for you, mate."

            "It's okay," Harry suddenly grinned. "They don't know I can't do magic. I'm going to have loads of fun with Dudley."

            "Jus' be careful, now, ya hear?" I lapsed into my Southern accent. "No _real_ magic, 'kay? The Ministry monitors all underage witches and wizards. Have a good summer, okay, Harry? Maybe Ron and I will convince Molly to let you come stay with us."

            "Okay…see you guys later, then," Harry smiled and ran to catch up with his aunt, uncle, and cousin.

            "What's up with the corrupt cousins gig?" I asked the air in general. "It's a conspiracy, man, I tell ya. A conspiracy."

***


End file.
